Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Anerley. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Anerley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Anerley. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder 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 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Anerley.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Anerley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 Anerley where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Anerley conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Anerley conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Anerley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

I am the registered owner of a second floor flat in Anerley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Anerley property is Flats 55, 67 & 70 Melbourne Court Anerley Road in July 2013. The tribunal calculated that the premium for the extended lease at £48,366.00 for at 55, and £88,329.00 for ats 67 and 70 combined. This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 26.38 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Anerley