My fiance and I may need to rent out our Gidea Park 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Gidea Park conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Gidea Park conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Gidea Park. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

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

The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

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

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Gidea Park please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Gidea Park

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Gidea Park. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Gidea Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Gidea Park in which case you should be shopping around for a Gidea Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Gidea Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. It is an essential part 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).

All being well we will complete our sale of a £200000 garden flat in Gidea Park next week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Gidea Park?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Gidea Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Gidea 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 Gidea Park leasehold property is £350. For Gidea 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 obliged to provide answers.

I inherited a basement flat in Gidea Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Gidea Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Gidea Park premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gidea Park