My wife and I may need to let out our Enfield Lock garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Enfield Lock conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Enfield Lock conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Enfield Lock. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Lock should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Enfield Lock.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 management companies 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've recently bought a leasehold property in Enfield Lock. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Enfield Lock. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the amount due.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold case for a Enfield Lock property 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 80.01 years.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Enfield Lock properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Lock is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I bought a basement flat in Enfield Lock, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Enfield Lock with over 90 years remaining are worth £223,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2105

You have 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.