There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Chingford. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Chingford.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Chingford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Chingford which have about 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Chingford. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability 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. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Chingford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Chingford where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Chingford conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Chingford. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Chingford conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Chingford property is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.26 years.

I bought a leasehold flat in Chingford, conveyancing having been completed in 1996. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Chingford with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

You have 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.