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

Even though your previous Brunswick Park conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Brunswick Park. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Brunswick Park.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Brunswick Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Brunswick Park. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Brunswick Park who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Brunswick Park conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £325000 maisonette in Brunswick Park next week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Brunswick Park?

Brunswick Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries 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 situations it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Brunswick Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Brunswick Park flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.