I own a freehold property in Lewisham but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Lewisham and has limited impact for conveyancing in Lewisham but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges post 1977.

Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

We are purchasing a detached bungalow in Lewisham. The intention is to convert the garage to a playroom at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to determine if these works are allowed?

Your solicitor should check the registered title as conveyancing in Lewisham will on occasion identify restrictions in the title deeds which prohibit categories of changes or need the permission of a 3rd party. Some works require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.

Is it the case that all Lewisham solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Leeds Building Society approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Lewisham. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Soon after, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Lewisham completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I was recommended by numerous selling agents in Lewisham to select a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your site ahead of a competitor’s?

We refuse to offer any commission for directing people in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I own a leasehold house in Lewisham. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Lewisham who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Lewisham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lewisham conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lewisham premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.