I own a leasehold house in Turnpike Lane. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Turnpike Lane who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Turnpike Lane conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

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

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. 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Turnpike Lane with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Turnpike Lane can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Turnpike Lane charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Turnpike Lane.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Turnpike Lane leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Turnpike Lane leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 lawyers.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Turnpike Lane home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £475000 flat in Turnpike Lane on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Turnpike Lane?

Turnpike Lane conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Turnpike Lane
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Turnpike Lane leasehold property is £350. For Turnpike Lane 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 the information.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Turnpike Lane. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Turnpike Lane property is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 81.79 years.

What makes a Turnpike Lane lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Turnpike Lane is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have 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. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.