Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Anerley. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Anerley.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Anerley. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Anerley ?

Most houses in Anerley are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Anerley so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Anerley conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Anerley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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 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 work for a long established estate agency in Anerley where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Anerley conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Anerley from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Anerley can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Anerley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Anerley.
• Some Anerley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Anerley conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Following years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Anerley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Anerley residence 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 26.38 years.

Anerley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be sensible to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Anerley leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Anerley. If you like the apartmentin Anerley but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision. Does the lease have in excess of 80 years left?