Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Old Malden basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Old Malden conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Old Malden do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold 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 consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Old Malden. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Old Malden.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Old Malden both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Old Malden. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Old Malden from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Old Malden can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Old Malden state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

Some Old Malden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Old Malden home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £400000 apartment in Old Malden in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Old Malden?

For most leasehold sales in Old Malden conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Old Malden leasehold property is £350. For Old Malden 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 required to provide answers.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Old Malden. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Old Malden conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Old Malden property is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case affected 1 flat.