My fiance and I may need to let out our Putney basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Putney conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Putney conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain 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 refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in Putney. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Putney should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or basement if applicable.
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Putney.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Putney where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Putney conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 300000 flat in Putney in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Putney?

Putney conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Putney conveyancing firm to help?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Putney property 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 was in relation to 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 66.25 years.

Putney Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Most Putney leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the landlord. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific invoice.