There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Clapton. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Clapton.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Clapton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Clapton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Clapton which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Clapton where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clapton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Clapton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. 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 related to 10 flats. The unexpired lease term was 71.25 years.

Clapton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying