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

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Streatham do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Streatham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Streatham should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Streatham. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Streatham are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Streatham so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Streatham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Streatham where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Streatham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Streatham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Streatham conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Streatham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Streatham in the last year?

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Streatham. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Streatham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Streatham premises is Flat 12, Newlands Court Streatham Common North in May 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the premium payable by the Applicants to the Respondent for the new lease of the Premises be £70,140. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 23.25 years.

Streatham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Many Streatham leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, usually in instalments during the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. You should want to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other tenants if they are happy with them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Who are the managing agents?