Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Barnsbury ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Barnsbury conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Barnsbury conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Barnsbury. 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 Barnsbury should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• 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.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Barnsbury. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Barnsbury who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Barnsbury conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Barnsbury levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury.
• Some Barnsbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Barnsbury home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barnsbury. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Barnsbury flat is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 62.79 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Barnsbury, conveyancing having been completed 2004. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Barnsbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £246,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2091

You have 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.