I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Finsbury - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Finsbury. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Finsbury.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Finsbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 until 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 own a leasehold house in Finsbury. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Finsbury who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Finsbury conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £175000 maisonette in Finsbury in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Finsbury?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Finsbury conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Finsbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Finsbury leasehold property is £350. For Finsbury 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 provide the information.

I own a ground flat in Finsbury. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Finsbury residence is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.