I want to rent out my leasehold flat in West Brompton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in West Brompton do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in West Brompton. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. 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 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in West Brompton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a West Brompton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a busy estate agent office in West Brompton where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local West Brompton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in West Brompton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton.
• Some West Brompton 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. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a West Brompton conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Following months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Brompton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Brompton flat 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 affected 5 flats. The unexpired lease term was 38.98 years.

What makes a West Brompton lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in West Brompton is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

West Brompton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

You will want to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other people what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the service costs or result in a specific payment.