There are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Enfield Highway. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Enfield Highway.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Enfield Highway where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Enfield Highway conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Enfield Highway conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Enfield Highway conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Enfield Highway conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Enfield Highway in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Enfield Highway charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway.
• Some Enfield Highway leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I inherited a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Enfield Highway. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Enfield Highway conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold case for a Enfield Highway premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 80.01 years.

What are the common defects that you witness in leases for Enfield Highway properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Enfield Highway - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? What is the length of the lease?