My fiance and I may need to let out our South East London 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a South East London conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in South East London do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in South East London. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering South East London.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South East London from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South East London can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? South East London leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• Some South East London leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 500000 garden flat in South East London next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in South East London?

South East London conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a South East London conveyancing firm to assist?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a South East London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a South East London premises 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 affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.

What makes a South East London lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in South East London is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I own a garden flat in South East London, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in South East London with an extended lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090

With just 64 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing 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 other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.