Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our West Brompton basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a West Brompton conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous West Brompton conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my flat in West Brompton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering West Brompton.

I own a leasehold house in West Brompton. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in West Brompton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a West Brompton conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in West Brompton where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local West Brompton conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a West Brompton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a West Brompton conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non West Brompton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in West Brompton who can give a testimonial?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in West Brompton. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Brompton property is 5 Wetherby Gardens in June 2014. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold of the property was £2,369,452. This case was in relation to 5 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 38.98 years.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in West Brompton, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in West Brompton with a long lease are worth £267,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

With just 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.