Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Wimbledon. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Wimbledon - 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.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Wimbledon ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Wimbledon conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Wimbledon do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Wimbledon. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Wimbledon.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Wimbledon conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wimbledon conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Wimbledon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Wimbledon who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175000 maisonette in Wimbledon in just under a week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wimbledon?

Wimbledon conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wimbledon
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wimbledon leasehold premises is £350. For Wimbledon 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 answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Wimbledon conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wimbledon flat is 629 Garratt Lane in September 2014. The consideration payable for the acquisition of the freehold of the subject property was the sum £21,302.74. This represented a valuation of the freehold in the sum of £23,864 from which the sum of £2561.27 has been deducted in respect of certain costs in repairing and insuring the premises This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.94 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wimbledon