Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Moorgate ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Moorgate conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Moorgate conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Moorgate. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

I own a leasehold flat in Moorgate. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Moorgate who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Moorgate conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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 house in Moorgate. 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 lessee 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 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Moorgate can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Moorgate levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 Moorgate.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Moorgate state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Moorgate leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Moorgate. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Moorgate property is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

I acquired a studio flat in Moorgate, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Moorgate with over 90 years remaining are worth £259,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

With 60 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £24,700 and £28,600 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.