I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Bush Hill Park. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bush Hill Park.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Bush Hill Park. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park should include some of the following:

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bush Hill Park please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Bush Hill Park

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bush Hill Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Bush Hill Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Bush Hill Park home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £200000 maisonette in Bush Hill Park in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bush Hill Park?

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

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bush Hill Park
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bush Hill Park leasehold property is £350. For Bush Hill Park 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 obliged to provide the information.

I own a basement flat in Bush Hill Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bush Hill Park flat is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 81.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bush Hill Park