I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Beddington. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Beddington - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my lease in Beddington. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Beddington.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Beddington. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Beddington who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Beddington conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two apartments in Beddington which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Beddington is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 a residence 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 Beddington 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 the agreed 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Beddington from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beddington can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Beddington state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Beddington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee freeholder 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 amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Beddington premises is Ground Floor Flat 14 Lodge Road in October 2013. the tribunal held that the price payable for the acquisition of the extended lease of the property should be £12,590 .00 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.46 years.

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Lease Extensions in Beddington