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

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Kensington do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Kensington. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Kensington.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Kensington. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Kensington are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Kensington in which case you should be shopping around for a Kensington conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Kensington which have about fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Kensington is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Kensington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 375000 apartment in Kensington in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kensington?

Kensington conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Kensington
• 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 Kensington leasehold premises is £350. For Kensington 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 required to provide the information.

After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kensington. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kensington residence is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 37.79 years.

Kensington Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

What restrictions exist in the Kensington Lease? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block?