My wife and I may need to rent out our Osterley garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Osterley conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Osterley conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Osterley. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Osterley should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Osterley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Osterley. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Osterley ?

Most houses in Osterley are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Osterley so you should seriously consider looking for a Osterley conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Osterley where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Osterley conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Osterley. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Osterley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Osterley residence 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.45 years.

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Lease Extensions in Osterley