I have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my lease in Barnes. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Barnes.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Barnes.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Barnes conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barnes conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Barnes conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barnes with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Barnes levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Barnes leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.

Some Barnes leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Barnes home move. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete the sale of our £425000 flat in Barnes next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Barnes?

For most leasehold sales in Barnes conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnes
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Barnes leasehold property is £350. For Barnes conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Barnes. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Barnes premises is 25 Petley Road in February 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payable for the freehold of the subject premises should be £18,760. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 156.6 years and 66.6 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barnes