I want to let out my leasehold flat in Greenford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Greenford conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Greenford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 an order 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 made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations 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 in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Greenford.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Greenford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Greenford conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Greenford conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Greenford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Greenford in the last 12 months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Greenford who can give a testimonial?

I am the leaseholder of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Greenford. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Greenford conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a lease Extension decision for a Greenford flat is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 58.19 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Greenford what are the most common lease defects?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Greenford - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their service. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. Best to be warned if a new roof is being installed or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific invoice.