Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Grange Park basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Grange Park conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Grange Park do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Grange Park. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Grange Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Grange 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Grange Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Grange Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Grange Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Grange Park in the last 12 months?

We expect to complete our sale of a £225000 garden flat in Grange Park next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Grange Park?

For most leasehold sales in Grange 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 Grange Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

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

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Grange Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Grange Park property 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 81.79 years.

What makes a Grange Park lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Grange Park