I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in South Norwood. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in South Norwood - 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.

My partner and I may need to let out our South Norwood garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a South Norwood conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last South Norwood conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in South Norwood. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold house in South Norwood. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in South Norwood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

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 South Norwood conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in South Norwood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a South Norwood conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a South Norwood flat is Flats 55, 67 & 70 Melbourne Court Anerley Road in July 2013. The tribunal calculated that the premium for the extended lease at £48,366.00 for at 55, and £88,329.00 for ats 67 and 70 combined. This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 26.38 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in South Norwood - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Many South Norwood leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Does the lease include onerous restrictions?