Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Temple Fortune - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

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

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Temple Fortune please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Temple Fortune

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Temple Fortune are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Temple Fortune so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Temple Fortune conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Temple Fortune who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Temple Fortune conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £300000 garden flat in Temple Fortune next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Temple Fortune?

For most leasehold sales in Temple Fortune conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Temple Fortune
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Temple Fortune leasehold premises is £350. For Temple Fortune 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 provide the information.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Temple Fortune. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

in cases where 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 calculate the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Temple Fortune property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Temple Fortune