I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Surbiton. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Surbiton - 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.

I work for a long established estate agency in Surbiton where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Surbiton conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Surbiton conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Surbiton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Surbiton in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Surbiton from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Surbiton can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Surbiton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• Some Surbiton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 500000 apartment in Surbiton on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Surbiton?

Surbiton conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I am the registered owner of a first flat in Surbiton. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Surbiton flat is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Surbiton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Surbiton with a long lease are worth £228,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2085

With 59 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.