I wish to let out my leasehold flat in Covent Garden. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Covent Garden do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Covent Garden. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Covent Garden.

I am attracted to a two flats in Covent Garden both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Covent Garden is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Covent Garden conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Covent Garden can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Covent Garden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• Some Covent Garden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 350000 apartment in Covent Garden in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Covent Garden?

Covent Garden conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Covent Garden conveyancing firm to represent me?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Covent Garden conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Covent Garden property is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 73.26 years.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Covent Garden, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Covent Garden with a long lease are worth £193,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2093

With just 67 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.