My husband and I may need to let out our East Bedfont ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a East Bedfont conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous East Bedfont conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in East Bedfont. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in East Bedfont ?

The majority of houses in East Bedfont are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in East Bedfont so you should seriously consider shopping around for a East Bedfont conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in East Bedfont. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in East Bedfont who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a East Bedfont conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in East Bedfont charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont.
• A minority of East Bedfont leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a East Bedfont home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 400000 apartment in East Bedfont next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in East Bedfont?

East Bedfont conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in East Bedfont
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for East Bedfont leasehold premises is £350. For East Bedfont 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 the information.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in East Bedfont. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Bedfont property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 82.93 years.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in East Bedfont, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in East Bedfont with a long lease are worth £221,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2093

You have 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £14,300 and £16,400 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.