My partner and I may need to let out our Islington ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Islington conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Islington conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Islington. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Islington should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Islington. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Islington conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Islington conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Islington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Islington who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Islington with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Islington can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Islington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict 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 a dispute is ongoing. 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Islington home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Islington premises is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 80.5 years.

Islington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

You should want to find out as much as you can about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours if they are happy with their management. On a final note, find out the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds.