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

Some leases for properties in Old Oak Common do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot 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.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Old Oak Common. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Old Oak Common.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Old Oak Common which have approximately fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Old Oak Common is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. 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 a residence 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 Old Oak Common conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Old Oak Common levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common.

A minority of Old Oak Common leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Old Oak Common conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £250000 maisonette in Old Oak Common on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Old Oak Common?

For most leasehold sales in Old Oak Common conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Old Oak Common
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Old Oak Common leasehold premises is £350. For Old Oak Common 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 supply answers.

Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Old Oak Common. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Old Oak Common conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Old Oak Common property is 49 Long Drive in March 2014. The tribunal concluded that the price payable for the freehold interest in the Property should be £26,491 divided as to £12,546 in respect of the ground floor flat and £13,945 in respect of the
first floor flat This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.47 years.