My wife and I may need to let out our Putney 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Putney conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Putney conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Putney.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Putney. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank 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 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Putney who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Putney conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agency in Putney where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Putney conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 250000 maisonette in Putney on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Putney?

Putney conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Having spent years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Putney. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Putney conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Putney residence is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case related to 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.25 years.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Putney, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Putney with over 90 years remaining are worth £209,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2088

With 62 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.