You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Aldwych. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Aldwych please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Aldwych

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Aldwych. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Aldwych ?

The majority of houses in Aldwych are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Aldwych in which case you should be shopping around for a Aldwych conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Aldwych both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Aldwych. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Aldwych conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Aldwych conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Aldwych conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Aldwych in the last twenty four months?

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 225000 garden flat in Aldwych on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Aldwych?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Aldwych
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Aldwych leasehold premises is £350. For Aldwych 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 required to provide the information.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Aldwych. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Aldwych conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Aldwych property is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.26 years.

I inherited a basement flat in Aldwych, conveyancing having been completed 2007. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Aldwych with a long lease are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With only 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £37,100 and £42,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.