My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Sandown 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Sandown conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Sandown do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Sandown. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Sandown.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Sandown where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Sandown conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 maisonette in Sandown on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Sandown?

Sandown conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Sandown lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sandown. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Sandown, conveyancing was carried out 2004. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Sandown with over 90 years remaining are worth £198,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

With only 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £23,800 and £27,400 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sandown