My husband and I may need to let out our Harrow Weald garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Harrow Weald conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Harrow Weald do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Harrow Weald. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Harrow Weald who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Harrow Weald conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Harrow Weald which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a long established estate agency in Harrow Weald where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Harrow Weald conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £325000 apartment in Harrow Weald in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Harrow Weald?

For most leasehold sales in Harrow Weald conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Harrow Weald
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Harrow Weald leasehold property is £350. For Harrow Weald 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 obliged to supply the information.

I own a ground flat in Harrow Weald. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Harrow Weald flat is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 75.25 years.