I only have 68 years unexpired on my lease in Harlesden. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Harlesden.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Harlesden. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Harlesden.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Harlesden. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Harlesden who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Harlesden conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harlesden from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harlesden can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Harlesden state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Harlesden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harlesden. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harlesden premises is First Floor Flat 2B Fortune Gate Road in May 2013. the tribunal decided that the price payable for the lease extension was £9,331, together with £900 in respect of outstanding ground rent. This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74.31 years.

Harlesden Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Where a Harlesden lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. Who are the managing agents?