Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Swiss Cottage. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Swiss Cottage.

I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Swiss Cottage. 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 Swiss Cottage should include some of the following:

• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Swiss Cottage who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Swiss Cottage conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Swiss Cottage levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Swiss Cottage state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Swiss Cottage conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Swiss Cottage. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision 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 was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.

Swiss Cottage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How long is the Lease? On the whole the cost for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Swiss Cottage obliged tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.