I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Morden. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Morden - 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 Morden ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Morden conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Morden 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 review 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 sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Morden. Conveyancing solicitors inform 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 Morden should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Morden please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Morden

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Morden. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Morden who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Morden conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Morden on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Morden?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Morden conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Morden
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Morden leasehold premises is £350. For Morden 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 obliged to provide answers.

I inherited a basement flat in Morden. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Morden property is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.94 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Morden