Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Clayhall. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report 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 solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Clayhall.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Clayhall.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Clayhall. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Clayhall who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Clayhall conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

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

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Clayhall can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Clayhall charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Clayhall.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Clayhall leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Clayhall conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £150000 maisonette in Clayhall in seven days. The management company has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Clayhall?

Clayhall conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Clayhall
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Clayhall leasehold property is £350. For Clayhall 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 answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Clayhall conveyancing firm to assist?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Clayhall conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Clayhall flat is 59 & 59a Clarendon Gardens in February 2014. The Tribunals valuation for the freehold was £30,073.00 The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 65 and 61.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Clayhall