There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Canning Town. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Canning Town.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Canning Town which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Canning Town. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Canning Town where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Canning Town conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Canning Town conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Canning Town conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Canning Town conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Canning Town who can give a testimonial?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Canning Town charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Canning Town state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• Some Canning Town leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Canning Town conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Canning Town conveyancing firm to assist?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Canning Town conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Canning Town premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.77 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Canning Town - A selection of Queries Prior to buying