I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Custom House. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Custom House - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Custom House. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Custom House.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Custom House. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Custom House should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

I am attracted to a two flats in Custom House which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Completion in due on the disposal of our £125000 flat in Custom House next Monday . The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Custom House?

Custom House conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Custom House. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Custom House property 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 69.77 years.