I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in West London. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in West London - 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 want to let out my leasehold flat in West London. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous West London conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in West London. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• 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 you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in West London. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in West London who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a West London conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in West London. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a West London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West London residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in West London what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in West London. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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 will 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. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

West London Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Be sure to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in West London. If you like the flatin West London however your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Many West London leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.