I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Lea Bridge. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Lea Bridge - 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 would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Lea Bridge. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

The 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 allowed. Most leases in Lea Bridge do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I work for a busy estate agency in Lea Bridge where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lea Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lea Bridge from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lea Bridge can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Lea Bridge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lea Bridge.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Lea Bridge leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Lea Bridge conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Lea Bridge on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Lea Bridge?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Lea Bridge
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Lea Bridge leasehold premises is £350. For Lea Bridge 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 provide answers.

I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Lea Bridge. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Lea Bridge conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Lea Bridge flat is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case related to 10 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71.25 years.