I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Finsbury Park. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Finsbury Park.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Finsbury Park. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Finsbury Park please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Finsbury Park

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Finsbury Park. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Finsbury Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Finsbury Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Finsbury Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Finsbury Park leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Finsbury Park conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £500000 garden flat in Finsbury Park next week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Finsbury Park?

Finsbury Park conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Finsbury Park
• 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 Park leasehold property is £350. For Finsbury Park 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 answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Finsbury Park conveyancing firm to help?

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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Finsbury Park premises is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Finsbury Park