I only have 68 years left on my flat in Cockfosters. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Cockfosters.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Cockfosters. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Cockfosters please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cockfosters

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Cockfosters. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Cockfosters ?

The majority of houses in Cockfosters are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Cockfosters in which case you should be looking for a Cockfosters conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cockfosters. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Cockfosters who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Cockfosters conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 250000 maisonette in Cockfosters on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cockfosters?

Cockfosters conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cockfosters
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cockfosters leasehold property is £350. For Cockfosters 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 required to provide answers.

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

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cockfosters residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.

Cockfosters Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

This question is helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to know about it