I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Lea Bridge. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Lea Bridge conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Lea Bridge. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Lea Bridge are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Lea Bridge so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Lea Bridge conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Lea Bridge. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Lea Bridge who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Lea Bridge conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Lea Bridge. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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 offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Lea Bridge conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lea Bridge conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Lea Bridge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Lea Bridge. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Lea Bridge premises is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case affected 10 flats. The unexpired term was 71.25 years.