Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Roehampton. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Roehampton.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Roehampton. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Roehampton 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. We note that you are purchasing in Roehampton in which case you should be shopping around for a Roehampton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Roehampton which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Roehampton. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Roehampton where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Roehampton conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Roehampton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Roehampton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Roehampton flat is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case affected 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.25 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Roehampton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Roehampton. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Roehampton