I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Anerley. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Anerley.

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Anerley. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Anerley both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Anerley is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Anerley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £300000 apartment in Anerley in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Anerley?

Anerley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I own a second floor flat in Anerley. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Anerley premises 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 unexpired residue of the current lease was 26.38 years.

What makes a Anerley lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Anerley. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Anerley