I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Woodside Park. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Woodside Park - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

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

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Woodside Park do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Woodside Park. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Woodside Park.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Woodside Park. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Woodside Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Woodside Park in which case you should be looking for a Woodside Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £250000 apartment in Woodside Park next week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Woodside Park?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Woodside Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woodside Park
• 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 Woodside Park leasehold premises is £350. For Woodside Park 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 supply answers.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodside Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Woodside Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Woodside Park flat is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.