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

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Tooting - 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 let out our Tooting 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Tooting conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Tooting conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Tooting where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Tooting conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

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

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 225000 apartment in Tooting in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Tooting?

Tooting conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Tooting
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tooting leasehold property is £350. For Tooting 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 provide the information.

Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Tooting. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Tooting residence is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 62.94 years.

Tooting Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

What restrictions exist in the Tooting Lease?