I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Newington. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Newington - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

There are only 62 years left on my lease in Newington. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Newington.

I own a leasehold flat in Newington. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society 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 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Newington who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Newington 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Newington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Newington conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Newington conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Newington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

I am the proprietor of a second floor flat in Newington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Newington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Newington residence is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case affected 41 flats. The unexpired lease term was 107 years.

I bought a studio flat in Newington, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Newington with a long lease are worth £220,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With only 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.