There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Chigwell. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Chigwell.

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Chigwell. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

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

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Chigwell please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Chigwell

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Chigwell conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chigwell conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Chigwell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Chigwell who can give a testimonial?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Chigwell with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chigwell can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Chigwell leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Chigwell leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Chigwell conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £175000 flat in Chigwell in 8 days. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Chigwell?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chigwell
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chigwell leasehold premises is £350. For Chigwell 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 attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Chigwell conveyancing firm to help?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Chigwell residence is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.26 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chigwell