My wife and I may need to rent out our Harold Park ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Harold Park conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Harold Park do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Harold Park. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Harold Park.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Harold Park. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Harold Park should include some of the following:

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• 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.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Harold Park which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 375000 maisonette in Harold Park in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Harold Park?

Harold Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a first floor flat in Harold Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harold Park premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Harold Park - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? If a Harold Park lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Does the lease include onerous restrictions?