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

Notwithstanding that your previous Hanwell conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Hanwell.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I work for a busy estate agency in Hanwell where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hanwell conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hanwell conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Hanwell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Hanwell who can give a testimonial?

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Hanwell conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hanwell flat is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

What makes a Hanwell lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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 issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed 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, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Hanwell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the property for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will increase the maintenance charges?