Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Bromley. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bromley.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Bromley. Conveyancing solicitors 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 Bromley should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• 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
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold flat in Bromley. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Bromley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Bromley conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Bromley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bromley conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 200000 maisonette in Bromley in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bromley?

Bromley conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Bromley conveyancing firm to assist?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bromley flat is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.

Bromley Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

If a Bromley lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Bromleylease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants?