I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Stratford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Stratford.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Stratford. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways?

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Stratford please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Stratford

I work for a long established estate agency in Stratford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stratford conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start 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 commence 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Stratford conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Stratford conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Stratford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Stratford who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 flat in Stratford next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stratford?

Stratford conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stratford
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stratford leasehold property is £350. For Stratford 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 am the registered owner of a garden flat in Stratford. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Stratford premises is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stratford