Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Borehamwood and Elstree - 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 have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Borehamwood and Elstree. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Borehamwood and Elstree.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Borehamwood and Elstree. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Borehamwood and Elstree where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Borehamwood and Elstree conveyancing firms. Can you clarify 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 been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 £375000 garden flat in Borehamwood and Elstree in just under a week. The management company has quoted £324 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 Borehamwood and Elstree?

Borehamwood and Elstree conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Borehamwood and Elstree
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Borehamwood and Elstree leasehold property is £350. For Borehamwood and Elstree 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 provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific invoice. How many years are left on the lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Borehamwood and Elstree