There are only Seventy years left on my flat in South Kensington. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering South Kensington.

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in South Kensington. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am looking at a two maisonettes in South Kensington both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in South Kensington is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 property 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 South Kensington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 reputable estate agent office in South Kensington where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local South Kensington conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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. 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in South Kensington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Kensington.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in South Kensington state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a South Kensington conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I am the leaseholder of a garden flat in South Kensington. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Kensington flat is Flat 16 21/22 Stanhope Gardens in November 2010. the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, was £106,975 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 51.93 years.

South Kensington Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most South Kensingtonlease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.