I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Poplar. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Some leases for properties in Poplar 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 see references. Experience dictates 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 consent.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Poplar. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I work for a reputable estate agency in Poplar where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Poplar conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Poplar from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Poplar can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Poplar leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Poplar leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Poplar conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Poplar next Friday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Poplar?

Poplar conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Poplar. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Poplar flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 101.61 years.

I acquired a basement flat in Poplar, conveyancing formalities finalised 2011. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Poplar with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2086

With 60 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.