Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Lansbury basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Lansbury conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Lansbury conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Lansbury. 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Lansbury conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lansbury conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Lansbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 150000 garden flat in Lansbury in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Lansbury?

Lansbury conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Lansbury. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Lansbury premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 80.01 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Lansbury what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Lansbury. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Lansbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying