Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Harrow Weald. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Harrow Weald.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Harrow Weald.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Harrow Weald. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Harrow Weald where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Harrow Weald conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £375000 maisonette in Harrow Weald in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harrow Weald?

Harrow Weald conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harrow Weald. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harrow Weald flat is flat 93b Welldon Crescent in May 2009. The Tribunals valuation for a 90-year lease extension of this fat was £13,171 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 75.25 years.