Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Queen's Park - 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.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Queen's Park. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Queen's Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Queen's Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Queen's Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Queen's Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Queen's Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 150000 garden flat in Queen's Park next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Queen's Park?

Queen's Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions 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 transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Following years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Queen's Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Queen's Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Queen's Park flat is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.02 years.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Queen's Park, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Queen's Park with a long lease are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093

You have 67 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should 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.