Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Tottenham. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Tottenham who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Tottenham conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Tottenham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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 busy estate agency in Tottenham where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Tottenham conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Tottenham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tottenham conveyancing practice) 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 Tottenham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Tottenham in the last 12 months?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £150000 apartment in Tottenham next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Tottenham?

Tottenham conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Tottenham
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tottenham leasehold premises is £350. For Tottenham 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 obliged to provide answers.

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Tottenham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Tottenham residence is 30 Strode Road in June 2013. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 20th February 2013 the Tribunal arrived at a valuation for enfranchisement of £10,256 for the premises (£4,074 for the Ground Floor Flat and £6182 for the First Floor Flat) and £100 for the appurtenant land. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 83.33 and 77.3.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tottenham