Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Ponders End garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Ponders End conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Ponders End do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Ponders End. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Ponders End ?

Most houses in Ponders End are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Ponders End in which case you should be shopping around for a Ponders End conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Ponders End. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Ponders End who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Ponders End conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Ponders End. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Ponders End where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Ponders End conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ponders End. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ponders End conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold matter before the tribunal for a Ponders End flat is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 80.01 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ponders End