Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Bromley 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Bromley conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bromley conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bromley. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bromley ?

The majority of houses in Bromley are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Bromley in which case you should be looking for a Bromley conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with 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 with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Bromley which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Bromley is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bromley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bromley with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bromley can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Bromley charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bromley.
• A minority of Bromley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder 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 reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Bromley conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 300000 flat in Bromley next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bromley?

Bromley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bromley. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bromley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bromley flat is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Bromley, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Bromley with a long lease are worth £205,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

With only 65 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.