I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Bexley. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bexley.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Bexley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bexley should include some of the following:

• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or working from home
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Bexley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Bexley where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Bexley conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start 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 buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Bexley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bexley conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Bexley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Bexley who can give a testimonial?

Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bexley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bexley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Bexley premises is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case was in relation to 1 flat.

I acquired a basement flat in Bexley, conveyancing was carried out 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Bexley with over 90 years remaining are worth £270,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2102

With just 76 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.