Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Isle of Dogs. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Isle of Dogs - 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 wife and I may need to rent out our Isle of Dogs ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Isle of Dogs conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Isle of Dogs conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Isle of Dogs. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Isle of Dogs.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Isle of Dogs. 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. However, 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Isle of Dogs conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Isle of Dogs conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Isle of Dogs conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Isle of Dogs in the last 12 months?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Isle of Dogs. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Isle of Dogs property is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case related to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 101.61 years.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Isle of Dogs, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Isle of Dogs with a long lease are worth £204,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2087

With just 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues 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 without first seeking the advice of a professional.