There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Hanwell. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hanwell.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Hanwell. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Hanwell are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Hanwell in which case you should be shopping around for a Hanwell conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Hanwell 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 Hanwell conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Hanwell conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hanwell conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Hanwell conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hanwell. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hanwell residence is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

What are the frequently found problems that you see in leases for Hanwell properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hanwell