Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Clapham. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Clapham - 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 hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Clapham. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Clapham. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Clapham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Clapham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Clapham where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clapham conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £325000 flat in Clapham in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Clapham?

Clapham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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 Clapham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Clapham property is 23 Chelsham Road in May 2013. the Tribunal fou
nd that the sum of £13,870.00 was payable for the freehold following a vestig order having been granted by Swansea County Court dated 1st March 2013 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 99 years.