I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Harringay. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Harringay - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Harringay. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Harringay who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Harringay conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Harringay. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Harringay where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Harringay conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £150000 maisonette in Harringay next week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harringay?

Harringay conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates fees being levied by managing agents :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Harringay
• 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 Harringay leasehold premises is £350. For Harringay 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.

Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harringay. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Harringay conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Harringay property is 37 St. Margarets Avenue in January 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 8th November 2008 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £20,543 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 74.75 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Harringay