My partner and I may need to rent out our Hanwell garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Hanwell conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Hanwell do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

There are only 72 years left on my lease in Hanwell. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hanwell.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Hanwell. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hanwell please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Hanwell

I own a leasehold flat in Hanwell. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Hanwell who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Hanwell conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £375000 garden flat in Hanwell in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hanwell?

Hanwell conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hanwell
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hanwell leasehold premises is £350. For Hanwell conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Following months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hanwell. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case 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 was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.39 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hanwell