I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my lease in Mayfair. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Mayfair.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Mayfair.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear 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 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Mayfair. 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Mayfair where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Mayfair conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

After years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Mayfair. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Mayfair conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Mayfair residence is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 21 years.

Are there common defects that you witness in leases for Mayfair properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Mayfair is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Mayfair - Sample of Queries before buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Who is in charge of the block?