I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Brixton. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Brixton.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Brixton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brixton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brixton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Some Brixton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Brixton home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) 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 verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £250000 flat in Brixton on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brixton?

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

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

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Brixton leasehold property is £350. For Brixton 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 required to provide answers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Brixton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Brixton premises is 66 Southwell Road in March 2012. By Order of Deputy District Judge Stone dated 25 January 2012 a vesting order was made. The determination of the purchase price was referred to the Tribunal who decided that the amount payable for the freehold should be£29,612.00 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.58 years.

What makes a Brixton lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Brixton is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brixton