There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Bankside. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Bankside.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bankside. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bankside ?

The majority of houses in Bankside are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Bankside in which case you should be looking for a Bankside conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to 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 such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Bankside where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bankside conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 Bankside from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bankside can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bankside state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Bankside conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Bankside premises is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case related to 41 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 107 years.

What makes a Bankside lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bankside is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.