I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my lease in Bromley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bromley.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bromley. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bromley ?

Most houses in Bromley 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 Bromley in which case you should be looking for a Bromley conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Bromley both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Bromley. 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. However, 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 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).

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 400000 flat in Bromley next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bromley?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Bromley 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-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bromley
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bromley leasehold property is £350. For Bromley 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 provide answers.

I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Bromley. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bromley flat is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Bromley, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bromley with a long lease are worth £218,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

With only 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.