Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Balham ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Balham conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Balham do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Balham. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Balham who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Balham conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, 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 Balham both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Balham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 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 employed by a long established estate agent office in Balham where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Balham conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Balham conveyancing firm to represent me?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Balham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Balham property is First Floor Flat 152a Ramsden Road in June 2009. The net result of the tribunals calculation produced a premium payable of £23,975. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 56.67 years.

I own a basement flat in Balham, conveyancing was carried out in 2003. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Balham with a long lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2106

With just 80 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to 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.