Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Maida Hill basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Maida Hill conveyancing practice 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?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Maida Hill do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I only have Sixty One years left on my lease in Maida Hill. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations 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 conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Maida Hill.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Maida Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Maida Hill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Maida Hill in which case you should be shopping around for a Maida Hill conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Maida Hill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Hill can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Maida Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Maida Hill conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Maida Hill conveyancing firm to assist?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Maida Hill premises is Flat 1 57 Oxford Gardens in January 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium to be paidfor a new lease is £61,650.00. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Maida Hill what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Maida Hill. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have very detailed 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 withdraw.

Maida Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Most Maida Hill leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. Its a good idea to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they can either make life much easier or much more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters such as the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what it includes.