Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Earls Court. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Earls Court - 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.

I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Earls Court. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Earls Court do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Earls Court. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Earls Court.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Earls Court.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Earls Court conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Earls Court conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Earls Court conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Earls Court who can give a testimonial?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Earls Court. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Earls Court conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Earls Court residence is 5 Wetherby Gardens in June 2014. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold of the property was £2,369,452. This case related to 5 flats. The unexpired term was 38.98 years.

I own a 1st floor flat in Earls Court, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Earls Court with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2081

With 55 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £25,700 and £29,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.