Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in White City. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in White City should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I've recently bought a leasehold house in White City. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in White City where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local White City conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a White City conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a White City conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non White City conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £350000 maisonette in White City next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in White City?

White City conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in White City. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a White City premises is 23 & 23A Collingbourne Road in June 2013. Tribunal was dealing with the assessment of the value of the freehold reversion and determination of the terms of the acquisition pursuant to an Order of District Judge Lightman dated 25 February 2013 vesting the freehold interest in the property in the applicant. The tribunal assessed the price of the freehold (to which any arrears or other sums due to the missing landlord under the leases should be added) at £81,638. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.5 years.