I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Chalfont St Peter. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Chalfont St Peter.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Chalfont St Peter. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home
• 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
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• 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

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Chalfont St Peter please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chalfont St Peter. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Chalfont St Peter conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 275000 garden flat in Chalfont St Peter next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Chalfont St Peter?

Chalfont St Peter conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chalfont St Peter
• 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 Chalfont St Peter leasehold property is £350. For Chalfont St Peter 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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Chalfont St Peter. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chalfont St Peter property is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case affected 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.

Chalfont St Peter Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Who is in charge of the block?