I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Barnes Cray. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Barnes Cray - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Barnes Cray. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Barnes Cray conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Barnes Cray. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received 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 Barnes Cray who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Barnes Cray conveyancing firm 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Barnes Cray where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Barnes Cray conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Barnes Cray. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Barnes Cray conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Barnes Cray flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Barnes Cray what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Barnes Cray. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.