I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Stepney. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Stepney do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Stepney both have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Stepney. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Stepney. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Stepney conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Stepney conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Stepney conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stepney from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stepney can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Stepney levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stepney.

Having spent months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Stepney. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Stepney flat is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term was 101.61 years.