I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Snaresbrook. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Snaresbrook conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Snaresbrook. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Snaresbrook.

Due to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Snaresbrook. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Snaresbrook. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Snaresbrook who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Snaresbrook conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Snaresbrook which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Snaresbrook is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Snaresbrook conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Snaresbrook. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Snaresbrook conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Snaresbrook premises is 36 New Wanstead in August 2010. The Tribunal arrived at a valuation of the premium for the freehold of £22,359. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 73.92 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Snaresbrook