Questions and Answers: Isle of Dogs leasehold conveyancing
Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Isle of Dogs 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Isle of Dogs conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your last Isle of Dogs conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.
I only have 72 years remaining on my lease in Isle of Dogs. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Isle of Dogs.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Isle of Dogs. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Isle of Dogs who acted for me is not around.What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Isle of Dogs conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am looking at a two maisonettes in Isle of Dogs both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Isle of Dogs. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field
I work for a busy estate agent office in Isle of Dogs where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Isle of Dogs conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.
After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Isle of Dogs. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Isle of Dogs residence is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired term was 101.61 years.
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