There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Palmers Green. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare 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 property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Palmers Green.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Palmers Green.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two apartments in Palmers Green which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Palmers Green can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Palmers Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

Some Palmers Green leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Palmers Green conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on our sale of a £200000 flat in Palmers Green in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Palmers Green?

Palmers Green conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Palmers Green
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Palmers Green leasehold property is £350. For Palmers Green 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 required to provide the information.

Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Palmers Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Palmers Green premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 81.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Palmers Green