My wife and I may need to rent out our Coombe 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Coombe conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Coombe conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Coombe. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Coombe.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Coombe which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Coombe from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Coombe can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Coombe leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Coombe conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Coombe property is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case was in relation to 1 flat.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Coombe properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Coombe is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.