I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hornsey. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Hornsey - 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.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Hornsey.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Hornsey. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Hornsey who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Hornsey conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Hornsey. 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. 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 ensure 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £325000 flat in Hornsey next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £348 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 Hornsey?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hornsey
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hornsey leasehold property is £350. For Hornsey 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.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hornsey. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hornsey flat is 7 Aubrey Road in December 2010. By an order of the county court on 15/12/2009 the freehold interest inthe Property known as 7 Aubrey Road London N8 9HH (the Property) and registered at HM Land Registry under title number MX439124 was vested in the applicants. The Tribunal calculated that the total enfranchisement premium, assessed in accordance with Schedule 6 to the Act, was £54,633. This case affected 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.27 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hornsey