Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Smithfield. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Smithfield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Smithfield where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Smithfield conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 for a lease extension. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Smithfield conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Smithfield conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Smithfield conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

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

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

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Smithfield can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• A minority of Smithfield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Smithfield home move. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I bought a split level flat in Smithfield, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Smithfield with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With 70 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.