My husband and I may need to rent out our Muswell Hill garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Muswell Hill conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Muswell Hill do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Muswell Hill. Conveyancing lawyers 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 Muswell Hill should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Muswell Hill please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Muswell Hill

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Muswell Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Muswell Hill with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Muswell Hill can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Muswell Hill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Muswell Hill.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Muswell Hill state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Muswell Hill conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £350000 flat in Muswell Hill on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Muswell Hill?

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

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Muswell Hill
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Muswell Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Muswell Hill 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 required to provide the information.

I inherited a garden flat in Muswell Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 65.21 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Muswell Hill