My wife and I may need to sub-let our Hackney Wick basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Hackney Wick conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Hackney Wick conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Hackney Wick. 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hackney Wick.

Expecting to exchange soon on a basement flat in Hackney Wick. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hackney Wick should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Hackney Wick where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hackney Wick conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 commence 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hackney Wick from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hackney Wick can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Hackney Wick charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hackney Wick.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hackney Wick leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Hackney Wick home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

After years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hackney Wick. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hackney Wick premises is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 72.02 years.

I acquired a studio flat in Hackney Wick, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Hackney Wick with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With just 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.