I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in New Malden. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering New Malden.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in New Malden. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in New Malden ?

The majority of houses in New Malden are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in New Malden so you should seriously consider shopping around for a New Malden conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in New Malden from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Malden can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in New Malden charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Malden.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? New Malden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

Some New Malden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £375000 apartment in New Malden in nine days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in New Malden?

New Malden conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in New Malden
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for New Malden leasehold property is £350. For New Malden 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 success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a New Malden conveyancing firm to represent me?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a New Malden conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a New Malden property is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in New Malden what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in New Malden is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 may encounter 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. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society 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 buyer to pull out.

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Lease Extensions in New Malden