I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Hornsey Rise. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Hornsey Rise conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold house in Hornsey Rise. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. 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 Hornsey Rise who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Hornsey Rise conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Hornsey Rise both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hornsey Rise. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Hornsey Rise. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Hornsey Rise conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hornsey Rise conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Hornsey Rise conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Having spent months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hornsey Rise. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hornsey Rise property is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 71 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hornsey Rise