There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Cubitt Town. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cubitt Town.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Cubitt Town.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Cubitt Town. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cubitt Town are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cubitt Town so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Cubitt Town conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Cubitt Town. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Cubitt Town who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Cubitt Town conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, 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 the sale of our £ 325000 apartment in Cubitt Town in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Cubitt Town?

Cubitt Town conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Cubitt Town. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cubitt Town premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 101.61 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cubitt Town - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

On the whole the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Cubitt Town ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.