My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Perivale basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Perivale conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Perivale conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Perivale. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Perivale.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Perivale. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Perivale who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Perivale conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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 house in Perivale. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Perivale. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Perivale conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Perivale premises 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Perivale what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Perivale. All leases are unique 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 premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 could have 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. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Perivale, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Perivale with an extended lease are worth £230,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

With only 74 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.