There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Barking. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Barking.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Barking.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold flat in Barking. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Barking who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Barking conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Barking conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barking conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Barking conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How many lease extensions have they carried out in Barking in the last twenty four months?

Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barking. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Barking property is 240 Strone Road in January 2014. the tribunal held that the price to be paid for the freehold interest was£23,538 of which£13,017 is attributable to the ground floor flat and £10,521 to the
first floor flat. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 65.5 years.

What makes a Barking lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Barking. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues 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 Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barking