I wish to let out my leasehold flat in South West London. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in South West London do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in South West London. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in South West London who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a South West London conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in South West London which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in South West London. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South West London with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South West London can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in South West London charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in South West London.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? South West London leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 250000 apartment in South West London in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in South West London?

South West London conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in South West London
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for South West London leasehold property is £350. For South West London 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 supply answers.

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in South West London. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a South West London property is 78 & 80 Newport Road in January 2013. the Tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder in respect of the freehold reversion is £23,105 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71.63 years.

I own a leasehold flat in South West London, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in South West London with a long lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2100

You have 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.