Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Stratford 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Stratford conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Stratford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse 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.

I only have Fifty years left on my flat in Stratford. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate 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 conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Stratford.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Stratford where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Stratford conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Stratford conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Stratford conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Stratford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £125000 flat in Stratford next Friday . The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Stratford?

Stratford conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Stratford. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Stratford flat is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stratford