Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Ealing. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Ealing - 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.

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

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Ealing. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• 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 contained in your report on your leasehold property in Ealing please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Ealing

I own a leasehold house in Ealing. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Ealing who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Ealing conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ealing. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 475000 garden flat in Ealing in 10 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ealing?

For most leasehold sales in Ealing conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ealing
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ealing leasehold property is £350. For Ealing 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 obliged to supply answers.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Ealing. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ealing conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ealing flat is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 68.7 years.

Ealing Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

The majority of Ealing leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally in instalments during the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will likely increase the maintenance costs?