I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Holloway. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, 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. Most leases in Holloway do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in Holloway. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Holloway should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Holloway.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Holloway. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Holloway who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Holloway 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Holloway. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 own a a ground floor purpose built flat in Holloway. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Holloway premises is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Holloway, conveyancing was carried out 1997. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Holloway with over 90 years remaining are worth £182,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With only 62 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £18,100 and £20,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.