Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Kensington garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Kensington conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Kensington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Kensington. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kensington should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Kensington where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Kensington conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Kensington conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Kensington conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Kensington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Kensington in the last year?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 450000 garden flat in Kensington in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kensington?

Kensington conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kensington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case 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 affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 37.79 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kensington - Sample of Queries before buying

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? You will want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they can either make your life much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask other tenants what they think of their service. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money.