Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my lease in Silvertown. I now wish 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 submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document 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 disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Silvertown.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Silvertown. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Silvertown who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Silvertown conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two flats in Silvertown which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Silvertown. The lease is a right to use the property 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. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Silvertown in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Silvertown?

Silvertown conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Silvertown conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Silvertown property 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 affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Silvertown what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Silvertown. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

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Lease Extensions in Silvertown