Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in St Pancras. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• 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
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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 options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in St Pancras. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in St Pancras who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a St Pancras conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a long established estate agency in St Pancras where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local St Pancras conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a St Pancras conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Pancras conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non St Pancras conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in St Pancras who can give a testimonial?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 300000 apartment in St Pancras next Friday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in St Pancras?

St Pancras conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

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

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Pancras flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.8 years.

I bought a 1st floor flat in St Pancras, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in St Pancras with over 90 years remaining are worth £215,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With just 66 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.