Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Thamesmead basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Thamesmead conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Thamesmead do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Thamesmead. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Thamesmead are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Thamesmead in which case you should be shopping around for a Thamesmead conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Thamesmead where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Thamesmead conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 can avoid having to sit tight for 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.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Thamesmead from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thamesmead can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Thamesmead levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thamesmead.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Thamesmead state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 rather than unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Thamesmead home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete our sale of a £425000 garden flat in Thamesmead next Thursday . The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Thamesmead?

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

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Thamesmead
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Thamesmead leasehold property is £350. For Thamesmead 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 obliged to supply answers.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Thamesmead. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Thamesmead conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Thamesmead premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thamesmead