There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Southgate. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Southgate.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Southgate.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Southgate where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Southgate conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Southgate with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southgate can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Southgate 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 pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southgate.

If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Southgate leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Southgate conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £375000 garden flat in Southgate on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Southgate?

For most leasehold sales in Southgate conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Southgate
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Southgate leasehold premises is £350. For Southgate conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Southgate. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Southgate flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Southgate