Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Yeading ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Yeading conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Yeading conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Yeading.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 unless 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Yeading conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Yeading conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Yeading conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Yeading from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Yeading can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Yeading charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yeading.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Yeading. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, 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 calculate the price payable.

An example of a lease Extension decision for a Yeading property is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 58.19 years.

What makes a Yeading lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Yeading. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Yeading