There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Holloway. I need 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 for permission 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 made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Holloway.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Holloway. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Holloway 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 new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Holloway conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Holloway which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Holloway is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Holloway conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Holloway from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Holloway can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Holloway leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Holloway. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Holloway premises is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Holloway what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Holloway. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.