I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in West Drayton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last West Drayton conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in West Drayton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in West Drayton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a West Drayton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a West Drayton conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non West Drayton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Drayton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a West Drayton flat is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in West Drayton what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in West Drayton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could 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. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in West Drayton