I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Lisson Grove. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Lisson Grove conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Lisson Grove. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Lisson Grove who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Lisson Grove conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Lisson Grove which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Lisson Grove is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 property 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 Lisson Grove 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Lisson Grove where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lisson Grove conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Lisson Grove conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Lisson Grove conveyancing practice) 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 two or three firms including non Lisson Grove conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in Lisson Grove. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lisson Grove premises is Flats 37 & 39 88/90 Portland Place in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extensions in respect of these two flats is as follows:- For Flat 37, the sum of £385,230.00 For Flat 39, the sum of £436,780.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 24.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lisson Grove