I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Hayes. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Hayes conveyancing lawyer is no longer around 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 allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Hayes. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare 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 both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Hayes.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Hayes. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I am attracted to a two apartments in Hayes both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Hayes. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hayes conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Hayes conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Hayes. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Hayes conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hayes residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69 years.