My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Bayswater ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Bayswater 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?

Even though your previous Bayswater conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Bayswater. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bayswater should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Bayswater.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 450000 garden flat in Bayswater in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bayswater?

Bayswater conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Bayswater conveyancing firm to help?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bayswater residence is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 37.79 years.

What makes a Bayswater lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bayswater is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Bayswater Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

Many Bayswater leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the maintenance costs?