There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in St Pancras. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering St Pancras.

I own a leasehold flat in St Pancras. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in St Pancras who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a St Pancras conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in St Pancras. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in St Pancras where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local St Pancras conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 475000 flat in St Pancras in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in St Pancras?

St Pancras conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St Pancras conveyancing firm to help?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Pancras flat is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 66.8 years.

I purchased a studio flat in St Pancras, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in St Pancras with an extended lease are worth £252,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

With only 73 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.