I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Swiss Cottage - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am attracted to a two maisonettes in Swiss Cottage both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Swiss Cottage. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Swiss Cottage. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Swiss Cottage where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Swiss Cottage conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Swiss Cottage. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Swiss Cottage property is First 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 affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 16.83 and 16.43.

Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Swiss Cottage properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I bought a ground floor flat in Swiss Cottage, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Swiss Cottage with a long lease are worth £220,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.