My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Finsbury Park basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Finsbury Park conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Finsbury Park conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Finsbury Park. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

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

You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Finsbury Park please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Finsbury Park

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Finsbury Park.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 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.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Finsbury Park on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Finsbury Park?

Finsbury Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Finsbury Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Finsbury Park leasehold premises is £350. For Finsbury Park 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 supply the information.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Finsbury Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Finsbury Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Finsbury Park property is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. 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
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements 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 pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Finsbury Park