My fiance and I may need to sub-let our North Sheen garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a North Sheen conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in North Sheen do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in North Sheen. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in North Sheen are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in North Sheen so you should seriously consider looking for a North Sheen conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in North Sheen. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in North Sheen who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a North Sheen conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in North Sheen. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I work for a busy estate agent office in North Sheen where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local North Sheen conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in North Sheen. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a North Sheen premises is Flat 1 30 Ennismore Avenue in September 2010. the Tribunal adopted and arrived at a premium for the lease extension of £29, 900 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.34 years.