I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dockland Settlement. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Dockland Settlement - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Dockland Settlement. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate 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 solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Dockland Settlement.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Dockland Settlement. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Dockland Settlement. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £125000 flat in Dockland Settlement in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Dockland Settlement?

Dockland Settlement conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Dockland Settlement. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Dockland Settlement conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Dockland Settlement property is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dockland Settlement