I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in South Hackney - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 Sixty One years left on my lease in South Hackney. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 an order 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 or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing South Hackney.

Due to complete next month on a ground floor flat in South Hackney. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South Hackney should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in South Hackney where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local South Hackney conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the sale of our £500000 maisonette in South Hackney in nine days. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South Hackney?

South Hackney conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in South Hackney. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to determine the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a South Hackney residence is 150 Amhurst Road in December 2013. The tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the applicant for the enfranchisement of the subject property was £43,500. This case related to 4 flats. The unexpired lease term was 90 (or thereabouts).