My wife and I may need to sub-let our Gidea Park ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Gidea Park conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Gidea Park conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Gidea Park. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Gidea Park who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Gidea Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Gidea Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Gidea Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Gidea Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Gidea Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Gidea Park in the last 12 months?

Can they put you in touch with client in Gidea Park who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £500000 apartment in Gidea Park in just under a week. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Gidea Park?

Gidea Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Gidea Park
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 supply the information.

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Gidea Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Gidea Park residence 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gidea Park