Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Limehouse - 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 partner and I may need to sub-let our Limehouse 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Limehouse conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Limehouse do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Limehouse. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Limehouse. Am I liable to pay 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. 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Limehouse where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Limehouse conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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.

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

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Limehouse premises is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.

Limehouse Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

The answer will be important as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure