Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Highbury. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Highbury - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 may need to let out our Highbury ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Highbury conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Highbury do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Highbury. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Highbury.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Highbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 unless 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Highbury from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Highbury can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Highbury levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Highbury.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Highbury leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Highbury conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Highbury conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Highbury property is Lower Flat 16A Beatty Road in September 2012. The premium payable was £13,577. The terms of the lease has been agreed between the Applicants and the First Respondent and the Tribunal did not seek to disturb that agreement. This case was in relation to 1 flat.

Highbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Who is in charge of the block?