Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Stratford. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Stratford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 72 years left on my lease in Stratford. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Stratford.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Stratford. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Stratford ?

The majority of houses in Stratford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Stratford in which case you should be shopping around for a Stratford conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with 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 with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Stratford. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Stratford who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Stratford conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Stratford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Stratford conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 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.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Stratford. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide 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 the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stratford