Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in East London. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in East London - 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.

I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in East London. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your last East London conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in East London.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East London from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East London can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in East London levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in East London.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in East London state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of East London leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a East London conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 375000 flat in East London next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in East London?

For the majority of leasehold sales in East London conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in East London
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 East London leasehold premises is £350. For East 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 the information.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in East London. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East London property is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 73.26 years.

East London Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing