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

A small minority of properties in De Beauvoir Town do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in De Beauvoir Town. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in De Beauvoir Town which have about forty five years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in De Beauvoir Town. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in De Beauvoir Town where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local De Beauvoir Town conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £500000 garden flat in De Beauvoir Town in six days. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in De Beauvoir Town?

De Beauvoir Town conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a garden flat in De Beauvoir Town. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a De Beauvoir Town flat is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in De Beauvoir Town