My wife and I may need to rent out our Harold Wood basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Harold Wood conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Harold Wood conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in Harold Wood. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Harold Wood where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Harold Wood conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in Harold Wood next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harold Wood?

Harold Wood conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harold Wood. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harold Wood 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

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

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Harold Wood