I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Silvertown. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Silvertown - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Silvertown. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Silvertown.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Silvertown both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Silvertown is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, 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 premises 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 premises 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 Silvertown 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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 am employed by a long established estate agent office in Silvertown where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Silvertown conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Silvertown conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Silvertown conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Silvertown conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Silvertown in the last year?

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

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Silvertown residence is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Silvertown