I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Angel. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Angel - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My fiance and I may need to let out our Angel 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Angel conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Angel conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Angel where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Angel conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Angel conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Angel conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Angel conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

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

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 400000 flat in Angel next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Angel?

Angel conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Angel property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 98 years.

Angel Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Angel ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger works. Make sure you enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Angel. If you like the propertyin Angel however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard choice.