I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Arnos Grove. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Arnos Grove conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Arnos Grove. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Are pets allowed in the flat?

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Arnos Grove please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Arnos Grove

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Arnos Grove.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Arnos Grove which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Arnos Grove. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £475000 apartment in Arnos Grove next week. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Arnos Grove?

Arnos Grove conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Arnos Grove
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Arnos Grove leasehold premises is £350. For Arnos Grove conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Arnos Grove. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Arnos Grove flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.