There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Dalston. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dalston.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Dalston.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 am attracted to a two flats in Dalston which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Dalston. 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Dalston conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Dalston conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Dalston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Dalston in the last twenty four months?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Dalston. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Dalston flat is 150 Amhurst Road in December 2013. The tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the applicant for the enfranchisement of the subject property was £43,500. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The unexpired lease term was 90 (or thereabouts).

I own a garden flat in Dalston, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Dalston with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

With only 60 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £23,800 and £27,400 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.