I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Gunnersbury. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Gunnersbury.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Gunnersbury. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Gunnersbury please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Gunnersbury

I work for a long established estate agent office in Gunnersbury where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Gunnersbury conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 kick-start 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Gunnersbury conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Gunnersbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Gunnersbury who can give a testimonial?

What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 garden flat in Gunnersbury in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Gunnersbury?

Gunnersbury conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates administration charges raised by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Gunnersbury
• 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 Gunnersbury leasehold premises is £350. For Gunnersbury 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 am the leaseholder of a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Gunnersbury. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Gunnersbury property is 169 Southfield Road in September 2013. the tribunal decided that the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement should be £51,203 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.64 years.

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Lease Extensions in Gunnersbury