I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Isleworth. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Isleworth - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Isleworth garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Isleworth conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Isleworth conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Isleworth where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Isleworth conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225000 apartment in Isleworth in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Isleworth?

Isleworth conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Isleworth
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Isleworth leasehold premises is £350. For Isleworth 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 provide answers.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Isleworth. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Isleworth conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Isleworth premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.45 years.

What makes a Isleworth lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Isleworth. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• 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. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and TSB 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 provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Isleworth