I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Temple Fortune - 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Temple Fortune 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Temple Fortune conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Temple Fortune do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me 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:

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Temple Fortune please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Temple Fortune

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Temple Fortune charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Temple Fortune conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 475000 flat in Temple Fortune on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Temple Fortune?

Temple Fortune conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily results in fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Temple Fortune
• 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 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 obliged to supply the information.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Temple Fortune - Sample of Queries before buying

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?