I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Dulwich. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Dulwich - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Dulwich ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Dulwich conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Dulwich conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Dulwich. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Dulwich where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Dulwich conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 275000 flat in Dulwich next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Dulwich?

Dulwich conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Dulwich. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Dulwich property is 60 Taymount Grange Taymount Rise in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the premium at £13,346 for a lease extension of a further 90 years This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Dulwich - A selection of Queries before buying

Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time invoice.