I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Strawberry Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Strawberry Hill conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Strawberry Hill. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Strawberry Hill.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Strawberry Hill. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Strawberry Hill ?

Most houses in Strawberry Hill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Strawberry Hill in which case you should be looking for a Strawberry Hill conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Strawberry Hill can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Strawberry Hill state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Strawberry Hill conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £225000 apartment in Strawberry Hill next week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Strawberry Hill?

For most leasehold sales in Strawberry Hill conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Strawberry Hill
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Strawberry Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Strawberry Hill conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I am the proprietor of a ground flat in Strawberry Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Strawberry Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Strawberry Hill property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.45 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Strawberry Hill