Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Stratford. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Stratford.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Stratford. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The 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

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Stratford. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Stratford ?

Most houses in Stratford are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Stratford in which case you should be shopping around for a Stratford conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Stratford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stratford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £250000 maisonette in Stratford next week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stratford?

Stratford conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Stratford. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Stratford conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal 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 term was 72.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stratford