My wife and I may need to let out our New Southgate ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a New Southgate conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last New Southgate conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold flat in New Southgate. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in New Southgate who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a New Southgate conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in New Southgate. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a New Southgate conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a New Southgate conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non New Southgate 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:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Completion in due on the sale of our £475000 maisonette in New Southgate next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in New Southgate?

New Southgate conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in New Southgate
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for New Southgate leasehold property is £350. For New Southgate 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 supply answers.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in New Southgate. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a New Southgate property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 70.31 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in New Southgate