My wife and I may need to rent out our Tottenham Hale basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Tottenham Hale conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Tottenham Hale conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Tottenham Hale. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Tottenham Hale.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Tottenham Hale. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Tottenham Hale should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Tottenham Hale which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Tottenham Hale. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Tottenham Hale. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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 have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Tottenham Hale. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Tottenham Hale conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Tottenham Hale 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 number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74.13 years.