There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Brompton. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Brompton.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Brompton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Brompton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Brompton conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Brompton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Brompton in the last year?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Brompton who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Brompton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brompton can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Brompton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• A minority of Brompton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Brompton conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. 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 £ 325000 apartment in Brompton in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brompton?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Brompton
• 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 Brompton leasehold property is £350. For Brompton 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 the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in Brompton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Brompton premises is Flat 3 47 Cadogan Square in December 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable to the landord by the leaseholder for the lease extension was £732,935 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 13.33 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brompton - Sample of Queries before buying

Does this lease have more than 82 years left?