I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Stratford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Stratford do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Stratford. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stratford.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Stratford.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Stratford where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Stratford conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stratford with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stratford can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Stratford levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stratford.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Stratford conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Stratford premises 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 affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stratford