Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Harefield. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Harefield - 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.

There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Harefield. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Harefield.

I own a leasehold flat in Harefield. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Harefield who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Harefield conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Harefield where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Harefield conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 375000 apartment in Harefield on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Harefield?

Harefield conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Harefield. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Harefield conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harefield property is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Harefield, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Harefield with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2088

You have 62 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.