There are only 72 years left on my flat in Fulham. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. 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 Fulham.

Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in Fulham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• 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.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am attracted to a two flats in Fulham which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Fulham where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Fulham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 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 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 buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Fulham conveyancing firm to help?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Fulham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Fulham residence is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 93 years and 162 years.

What makes a Fulham lease unmortgageable?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may 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. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Fulham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the maintenance charges? In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Fulham obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance charges or require a one time payment.