There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Dollis Hill. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 an order 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 or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Dollis Hill.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Dollis Hill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Dollis Hill where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Dollis Hill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Dollis Hill conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Dollis Hill conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Dollis Hill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Dollis Hill who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dollis Hill with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dollis Hill can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Dollis Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Dollis Hill conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Dollis Hill. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Dollis Hill premises is 12 & 12A Deacon Road in May 2010. the Tribunal concluded that the price to be paid for the freehold should be £38,287 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 65.58 years.

Dollis Hill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

In the main the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Dollis Hill obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger works.