I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Merton Park. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Merton Park.

Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Merton Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I own a leasehold house in Merton Park. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Merton Park who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Merton Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Merton Park where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Merton Park conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

After years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Merton Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Merton Park premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 62.94 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express 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 purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Merton Park