Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Rotherhithe. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Rotherhithe.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Rotherhithe. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Rotherhithe are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Rotherhithe in which case you should be shopping around for a Rotherhithe 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 tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Rotherhithe which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Rotherhithe is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Rotherhithe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Rotherhithe where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Rotherhithe conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Rotherhithe. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Rotherhithe conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Rotherhithe premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Rotherhithe what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Rotherhithe is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

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. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.