I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Shooter's Hill. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Shooter's Hill - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Shooter's Hill basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Shooter's Hill conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Shooter's Hill do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Shooter's Hill.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Shooter's Hill. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Shooter's Hill who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Shooter's Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 garden flat in Shooter's Hill next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Shooter's Hill?

Shooter's Hill conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge 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.

After years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Shooter's Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Shooter's Hill property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case was in relation to 1 flat.