I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Upney. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Upney - 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.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Upney. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Upney should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

What you can do 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 contained in your report on your leasehold property in Upney please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Upney

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Upney. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Upney who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Upney conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

We expect to complete our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Upney next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Upney?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Upney conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Upney
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Upney leasehold property is £350. For Upney 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Upney conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a absentee landlord 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 LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upney flat is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.36 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Upney what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Upney is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Upney