There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Nunhead. I now want 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Nunhead.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Nunhead. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Nunhead who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Nunhead conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Nunhead. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Nunhead conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Nunhead conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Nunhead conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Nunhead who can give a testimonial?

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 300000 flat in Nunhead on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Nunhead?

Nunhead conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Nunhead. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Nunhead residence is 41 Endwell Road in March 2013. this matter relateed to the acquisition of the freehold of a mid- terraced Victorian house converted into three separate self-contained dwellings. By an order dated 28/11/2012, Deputy District Judge Cole in the Bromley County Court held that the leaseholders were entitled to acquire the freehold and directed that the premium payable be determined by this Tribunal. The Tribunal assessed the premium to be £14,753 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 80.01 years.

I bought a split level flat in Nunhead, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2010. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Nunhead with a long lease are worth £233,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With just 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously 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.