My fiance and I may need to sub-let our West Harrow basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a West Harrow conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last West Harrow conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my lease in West Harrow. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering West Harrow.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in West Harrow. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Harrow should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

I am looking at a couple of flats in West Harrow which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in West Harrow. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in West Harrow where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local West Harrow conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

I am the leaseholder of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in West Harrow. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a West Harrow conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Harrow premises is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 75.25 years.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in West Harrow, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in West Harrow with a long lease are worth £214,000. The ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2093

With 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.