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

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Wormwood Scrubs - 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.

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Wormwood Scrubs garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Wormwood Scrubs. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Wormwood Scrubs who previously acted has long since retired.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 incur the fees of a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wormwood Scrubs. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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).

Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Wormwood Scrubs flat 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 64.5 years.