I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my lease in Blackwall. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Blackwall.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Blackwall. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Blackwall.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 management companies 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Blackwall levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Blackwall leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 250000 apartment in Blackwall on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Blackwall?

Blackwall conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a second floor flat in Blackwall. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Blackwall conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Blackwall residence is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 101.61 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Blackwall - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

This question is useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is pending to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and could well dramatically impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a specific payment. Most Blackwall leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically during the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.