Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Primrose Hill. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Primrose Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Primrose Hill basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Primrose Hill do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates 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 consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Primrose Hill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Primrose Hill. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Primrose Hill who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Primrose Hill where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Primrose Hill conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process 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. This means that the buyer 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 sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Primrose Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Primrose Hill residence is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Primrose Hill