My husband and I may need to sub-let our North Wembley ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a North Wembley conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in North Wembley do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in North Wembley. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in North Wembley who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a North Wembley conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North Wembley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Wembley can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? North Wembley leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a North Wembley conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) 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 advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £200000 garden flat in North Wembley next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in North Wembley?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in North Wembley
• 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 North Wembley leasehold property is £350. For North Wembley 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 the information.

I own a garden flat in North Wembley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a North Wembley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a North Wembley residence is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 74 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in North Wembley what are the most frequent lease problems?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts 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. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North Wembley