Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Ruislip 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Ruislip conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Ruislip do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Ruislip. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ruislip.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Ruislip. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Ruislip where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ruislip conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Ruislip conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ruislip conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Ruislip conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Ruislip conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Ruislip conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ruislip residence is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 53.26 years.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Ruislip, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Ruislip with over 90 years remaining are worth £250,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2106

With only 80 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.