Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Knightsbridge. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Knightsbridge - 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 am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Knightsbridge. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Knightsbridge conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Knightsbridge. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Knightsbridge.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Knightsbridge conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Knightsbridge conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Knightsbridge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £225000 flat in Knightsbridge next week. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Knightsbridge?

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

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Knightsbridge
• 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 Knightsbridge leasehold premises is £350. For Knightsbridge 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 required to supply the information.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Knightsbridge. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Knightsbridge premises is Flat 3 47 Cadogan Square in December 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable to the landord by the leaseholder for the lease extension was £732,935 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 13.33 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Knightsbridge