My fiance and I may need to rent out our Lower Morden basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Lower Morden conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Lower Morden do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Lower Morden. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Lower Morden who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Lower Morden conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Lower Morden. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Lower Morden where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Lower Morden conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Lower Morden in nine days. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Lower Morden?

Lower Morden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lower Morden conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Lower Morden flat is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.43 years.