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

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Edgware do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Fifty years left on my lease in Edgware. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Edgware.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Edgware. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Edgware who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Edgware conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agency in Edgware where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Edgware conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Edgware. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Edgware conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Edgware property is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 71.73 years.

What makes a Edgware lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Edgware is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.

Edgware Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

Does the lease include onerous restrictions?