I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Eltham. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Eltham - 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.

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Eltham ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Eltham conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Eltham conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party 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 prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Eltham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 425000 apartment in Eltham next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Eltham?

Eltham conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Eltham. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, 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 premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Eltham property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Eltham properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Eltham is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a garden flat in Eltham, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Eltham with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2087

With 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.