I wish to let out my leasehold flat in Stamford Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Stamford Hill do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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 permission.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Stamford Hill. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order 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 have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Stamford Hill.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Stamford Hill conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stamford Hill conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Stamford Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Stamford Hill who can give a testimonial?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Some Stamford Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Stamford Hill conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Stamford Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Stamford Hill property is Flat 25, Stamford Hill Mansions Stamford Hill in April 2010. The Tribunal therefore determined that the premium to be paid by the lessee to the freeholder for the extension of the lease should be £28,984.00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 59 years.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Stamford Hill properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Hill. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections 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 premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Stamford Hill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.