Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Slade Green basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Slade Green conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Slade Green 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 sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Slade Green.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Slade Green. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Slade Green who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Slade Green conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Slade Green conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Slade Green conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Slade Green conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Slade Green in the last year?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

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

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Slade Green charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green.
• Some Slade Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Slade Green conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, 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 determine the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Slade Green premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Slade Green - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

If a Slade Green lease has less than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Slade Greenlease extensions you would be required to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Best to be warned if a new roof is being installed or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a one off invoice. Is there a share of the freehold?