Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Tottenham Green garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Tottenham Green conveyancing firm in 2004 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?

Notwithstanding that your previous Tottenham Green conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Tottenham Green.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham Green with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham Green can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Tottenham Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Tottenham Green leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Tottenham Green conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 150000 apartment in Tottenham Green next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Tottenham Green?

Tottenham Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Tottenham Green conveyancing firm to help?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Tottenham Green property 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 affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 74.13 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham Green what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham Green. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Tottenham Green Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. It would be prudent to investigate if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Tottenham Green. If you love the flatin Tottenham Green however your dog can’t move with you then you will be faced hard determination.