Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Silvertown 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Silvertown conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, 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. Most leases in Silvertown do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I own a leasehold flat in Silvertown. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Silvertown who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Silvertown conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Silvertown which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Silvertown conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Silvertown conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Silvertown conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 200000 apartment in Silvertown next Monday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Silvertown?

Silvertown conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Silvertown
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Silvertown leasehold premises is £350. For Silvertown 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 supply the information.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Silvertown. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Silvertown premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.77 years.

Silvertown Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?