Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our South Ruislip 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a South Ruislip conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last South Ruislip conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in South Ruislip. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering South Ruislip.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a South Ruislip conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a South Ruislip conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non South Ruislip 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 helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £125000 garden flat in South Ruislip on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in South Ruislip?

South Ruislip conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

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

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

What makes a South Ruislip lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in South Ruislip. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in South Ruislip