I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Helier. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in St Helier - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in St Helier. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering St Helier.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in St Helier.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in St Helier. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in St Helier are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in St Helier so you should seriously consider shopping around for a St Helier conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St Helier. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a St Helier property is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 66.67 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in St Helier what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Helier. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.