I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Town. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Enfield Town - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Enfield Town. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Enfield Town conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Enfield Town. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Enfield Town.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Enfield Town. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I work for a long established estate agency in Enfield Town where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Enfield Town conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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.

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

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Enfield Town conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Enfield Town premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 81.79 years.

Enfield Town Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? It would be wise to find out as much as you can about the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask other tenants what they think of their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money.