Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our New Covent Garden garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a New Covent Garden conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous New Covent Garden conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in New Covent Garden. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering New Covent Garden.

I am attracted to a two apartments in New Covent Garden both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in New Covent Garden. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. It is an essential part 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).

We expect to complete the sale of our £225000 flat in New Covent Garden next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in New Covent Garden?

For the majority of leasehold sales in New Covent Garden conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in New Covent Garden
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for New Covent Garden leasehold property is £350. For New Covent Garden conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in New Covent Garden, conveyancing formalities finalised 1997. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in New Covent Garden with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2105

With just 80 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in New Covent Garden