Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Barnes. I now wish to get lease extension 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence 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 overseeing Barnes.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Barnes. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Barnes ?

The majority of houses in Barnes are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Barnes so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Barnes conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Barnes. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barnes with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Barnes charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnes.

Some Barnes leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Barnes conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 maisonette in Barnes next week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant 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-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnes
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Barnes leasehold premises 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 supply answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Barnes conveyancing firm to represent me?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Barnes conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Barnes flat 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