I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Newington. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Newington.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Newington. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Newington who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Newington conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Newington. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Newington from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newington can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Newington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newington.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Newington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential 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 home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 300000 flat in Newington in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Newington?

Newington conveyancing on leasehold flats often requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Newington property 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.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Newington, conveyancing was carried out in 1998. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Newington with an extended lease are worth £258,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.