I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Harrow Weald. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Harrow Weald conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Harrow Weald.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Harrow Weald. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £200000 maisonette in Harrow Weald next Thursday . The management company has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harrow Weald?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Harrow Weald
• 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 Harrow Weald leasehold premises is £350. For Harrow Weald 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 provide the information.

I own a two-bedroom flat in Harrow Weald. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harrow Weald residence is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 75.25 years.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Harrow Weald properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Harrow Weald is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.