Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Kilburn. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kilburn.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Kilburn which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Kilburn is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 property 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 Kilburn 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 the agreed 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Kilburn conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kilburn conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Kilburn conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £350000 garden flat in Kilburn on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kilburn?

Kilburn conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Kilburn. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Kilburn flat is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.02 years.

What makes a Kilburn lease unacceptable for security purposes?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kilburn