I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Kensington.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 until 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 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Kensington. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Kensington who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Kensington conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Kensington where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kensington conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Kensington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kensington conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Kensington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Kensington who can give a testimonial?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 425000 apartment in Kensington on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Kensington?

Kensington conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a garden flat in Kensington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kensington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kensington residence is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 37.79 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kensington - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be wise to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Kensington. If you like the flatin Kensington but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard compromise. On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Kensington obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works.