I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Ealing. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Ealing.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Ealing both have in the region of 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 gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

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

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ealing conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Ealing conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Ealing in the last 12 months?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 500000 flat in Ealing next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ealing?

Ealing conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ealing
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ealing leasehold premises is £350. For Ealing 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 obliged to supply the information.

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Ealing. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Ealing residence is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 68.7 years.

Are there common defects that you see in leases for Ealing properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Ealing is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Ealing, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Ealing with an extended lease are worth £219,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.