Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Wembley Park 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Wembley Park conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Wembley Park conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Wembley Park. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed 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 total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways?

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wembley Park please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Wembley Park

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wembley Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Wembley Park levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Wembley Park state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

Some Wembley Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £350000 garden flat in Wembley Park next Friday . The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wembley Park?

Wembley Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Wembley Park
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Wembley Park leasehold premises is £350. For Wembley Park 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 answers.

I own a ground floor flat in Wembley Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Wembley Park premises is Ground Floor Flat 69 Clifton Avenue in March 2012. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease was £5,932 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76.06 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wembley Park