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

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Bedford Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bedford Park please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Bedford Park

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Bedford Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two apartments in Bedford Park which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a busy estate agency in Bedford Park where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bedford Park conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Bedford Park in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bedford Park?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bedford Park
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Bedford Park leasehold property is £350. For Bedford Park 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 supply answers.

Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bedford Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bedford Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bedford Park property is 169 Southfield Road in September 2013. the tribunal decided that the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement should be £51,203 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 64.64 years.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Bedford Park, conveyancing was carried out 2005. 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? Comparable properties in Bedford Park with an extended lease are worth £204,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With just 50 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.