Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Swiss Cottage - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my lease in Swiss Cottage. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Swiss Cottage.

I am looking at a two apartments in Swiss Cottage both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Swiss Cottage. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in Swiss Cottage where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Swiss Cottage conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 buyer 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 prior to, 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 buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Swiss Cottage flat is Raised Ground Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.

Are there frequently found defects that you see in leases for Swiss Cottage properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Swiss Cottage