I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Little Ilford. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Little Ilford.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Little Ilford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Little Ilford. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Little Ilford where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Little Ilford conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Little Ilford with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Little Ilford can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Little Ilford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Little Ilford home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I inherited a two-bedroom flat in Little Ilford. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Little Ilford conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Little Ilford premises is 9 Granville Road in June 2014. The tribunal determines the enfranchisement price payable by the applicants for the freehold was £32,548 This case related to 5 flats. The unexpired lease term was 73.8 years.

Little Ilford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

This question is useful as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have all the details How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? It would be sensible to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of their service. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending that money.