Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Muswell Hill 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Muswell Hill conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Muswell Hill conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Muswell Hill.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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.

I am looking at a two flats in Muswell Hill both have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Muswell Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Muswell Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Muswell Hill conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Muswell Hill conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Muswell Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 375000 apartment in Muswell Hill next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Muswell Hill?

Muswell Hill conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Muswell Hill conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Muswell Hill flat is Flat B 10 Grove Avenue in October 2013. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court 3rd July 2013 The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the lease extension was £36,215.00 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 65.21 years.

Muswell Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.