Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Somerstown - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Somerstown 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Somerstown conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Somerstown do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Somerstown both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a busy estate agency in Somerstown where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Somerstown conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 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 has to be done before, 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Somerstown leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• Some Somerstown leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Somerstown property is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.79 years.

Somerstown Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who manages the block? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?