I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in South Tottenham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous South Tottenham conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in South Tottenham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. A critical element 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a South Tottenham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a South Tottenham conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non South Tottenham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £175000 flat in South Tottenham on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South Tottenham?

South Tottenham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Tottenham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a South Tottenham flat is 22 Wakefield Road in January 2012. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 on 9th May 2011 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £17,400 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 74.13 years.

What makes a South Tottenham lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in South Tottenham is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.