Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Spitalfields ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Spitalfields conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Spitalfields do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates 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 permission.

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Spitalfields. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Spitalfields should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or cellar if applicable.

You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Spitalfields please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Spitalfields

I own a leasehold flat in Spitalfields. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Spitalfields who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Spitalfields conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Spitalfields where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Spitalfields conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 for a lease extension. 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.

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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £225000 apartment in Spitalfields on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Spitalfields?

For most leasehold sales in Spitalfields 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 conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Spitalfields
• 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 Spitalfields leasehold property is £350. For Spitalfields 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 inherited a a ground floor purpose built flat in Spitalfields. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Spitalfields flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case affected 41 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 107 years.