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

The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Surrey Quays do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Surrey Quays.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge 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 unless 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 attracted to a couple of apartments in Surrey Quays both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Surrey Quays is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Surrey Quays conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Surrey Quays where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Surrey Quays conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 250000 apartment in Surrey Quays next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Surrey Quays?

For most leasehold sales in Surrey Quays 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 enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Surrey Quays
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Surrey Quays leasehold premises is £350. For Surrey Quays 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 provide the information.

I am the leaseholder of a ground flat in Surrey Quays. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Surrey Quays conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Surrey Quays residence 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 related to 3 flats. The unexpired term was 101.61 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Surrey Quays - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the maintenance charges? Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is pending that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and could well materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a one off invoice. Where a Surrey Quays lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.