Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Millbank. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Millbank - 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 wife and I may need to rent out our Millbank garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Millbank conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Millbank conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have Seventy years left on my lease in Millbank. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Millbank.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Millbank.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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 until 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 own a leasehold house in Millbank. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Millbank who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Millbank conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Millbank. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Millbank property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 56 years.