Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Paddington garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Paddington conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Paddington conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Paddington.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 until 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Paddington. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Paddington who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Paddington conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Paddington which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 200000 garden flat in Paddington in 5 days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Paddington?

Paddington conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Paddington conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Paddington residence 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 unexpired lease term was 24.02 years.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Paddington, conveyancing having been completed 2011. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Paddington with over 90 years remaining are worth £218,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2093

You have 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.