I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Lewisham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Lewisham conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior 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 just started marketing my basement apartment in Lewisham.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Lewisham. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lewisham are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Lewisham so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Lewisham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

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

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lewisham can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Lewisham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lewisham.
• Some Lewisham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Lewisham conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lewisham conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute 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 amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Lewisham property is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.

I acquired a split level flat in Lewisham, conveyancing was carried out 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Lewisham with an extended lease are worth £266,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2095

You have 69 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.