I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Kensal Green. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Kensal Green.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Kensal Green.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Kensal Green. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Kensal Green who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Kensal Green conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Kensal Green levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Kensal Green state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Kensal Green home move. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £450000 garden flat in Kensal Green in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kensal Green?

Kensal Green conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Kensal Green
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kensal Green leasehold property is £350. For Kensal Green conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I inherited a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Kensal Green. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kensal Green residence is 85A Chevening Road in August 2013. the Tribunals conclusions resulted in a payment of a premium for the new lease in the sum of £11,211 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 84.34 years.