Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Chingford. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Chingford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Chingford garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Chingford conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Chingford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Chingford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 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 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Chingford. Conveyancing and Coventry 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. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Chingford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Chingford conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Chingford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

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

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

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

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Chingford flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69.26 years.

Chingford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the service charges or require a one time invoice.