I only have 72 years left on my flat in Newington. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Newington.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Newington. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Newington ?

Most houses in Newington are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Newington in which case you should be looking for a Newington conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on 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 comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Newington. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Newington from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newington can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Newington state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Newington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Newington home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 125000 flat in Newington next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Newington?

For most leasehold sales in Newington conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newington
• 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 Newington leasehold property is £350. For Newington 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 answers.

I am the leaseholder of a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Newington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Newington flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case affected 41 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 107 years.

Newington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?