Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Brunswick Park. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Brunswick Park - 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Brunswick Park where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Brunswick Park conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Brunswick Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Brunswick Park conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Brunswick Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £150000 flat in Brunswick Park next week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 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 Brunswick Park?

Brunswick Park conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Brunswick Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Brunswick Park property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Brunswick Park properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Brunswick Park. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.