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

A small minority of properties in St Mary Cray do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in St Mary Cray. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 reputable estate agent office in St Mary Cray where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local St Mary Cray conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

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

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in St Mary Cray levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? St Mary Cray leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• Some St Mary Cray leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in St Mary Cray. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Mary Cray property is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for St Mary Cray properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I inherited a ground floor flat in St Mary Cray, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in St Mary Cray with over 90 years remaining are worth £199,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With only 70 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.