My wife and I may need to rent out our Eden Park 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Eden Park conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Eden Park do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Eden Park. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Eden Park.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Eden Park. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Eden Park should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Eden Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Eden Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Eden Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Eden Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Eden Park in the last twenty four months?

Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Eden Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Eden Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Eden Park property is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76.75 and 88.83.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Eden Park, conveyancing having been completed 2004. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Eden Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086

With only 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.