There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Leamouth. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Leamouth.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Leamouth conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Leamouth conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Leamouth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Leamouth who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Leamouth levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Leamouth state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £325000 maisonette in Leamouth next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £348 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 Leamouth?

Leamouth conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Leamouth
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Leamouth leasehold property is £350. For Leamouth 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 obliged to provide the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Leamouth conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Leamouth residence is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.77 years.

What are the frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Leamouth properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Leamouth is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Clydesdale 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 is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.