My husband and I may need to sub-let our Feltham basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Feltham conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, 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 expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Feltham do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I only have 68 years left on my lease in Feltham. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Feltham.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Feltham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Feltham from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Feltham can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Feltham state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of Feltham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Feltham conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in Feltham. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Feltham property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 82.93 years.

What makes a Feltham lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Feltham is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Feltham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

Please inform me if there are any major works in the planning that will likely increase the service charges? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants have control and even though a managing agent is usually retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.