There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Clapton. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Clapton.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Clapton. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Clapton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Clapton so you should seriously consider looking for a Clapton conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Clapton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 reputable estate agent office in Clapton where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clapton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Clapton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Clapton conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Clapton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Clapton in the last twenty four months?

After months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Clapton. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Clapton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Clapton property is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case affected 10 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71.25 years.

Clapton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the property for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension.