I am intending to sublet 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?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Arnos Grove do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Arnos Grove both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Arnos Grove. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Arnos Grove. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 employed by a long established estate agency in Arnos Grove where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Arnos Grove conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 proposed purchaser need not have 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Arnos Grove conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the premium.

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

What makes a Arnos Grove lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Arnos Grove Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The majority of Arnos Grove leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Where you buy the apartment you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.