Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont. 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 Bedfont - 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 want to sublet my leasehold apartment in East Bedfont. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in East Bedfont do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in East Bedfont which have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in East Bedfont. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a East Bedfont conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East Bedfont conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non East Bedfont conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 125000 flat in East Bedfont next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in East Bedfont?

East Bedfont conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in East Bedfont
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 East Bedfont leasehold property is £350. For East Bedfont 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 obliged to provide the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a East Bedfont conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a East Bedfont conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a East Bedfont premises is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 82.93 years.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in East Bedfont, conveyancing having been completed 7 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 East Bedfont with an extended lease are worth £213,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2092

You have 66 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.