There are only Fifty years left on my flat in The Hale. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering The Hale.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in The Hale. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in The Hale are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in The Hale in which case you should be shopping around for a The Hale conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As 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 conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a two flats in The Hale which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold property in The Hale. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. However, 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).

All being well we will complete the sale of our £375000 apartment in The Hale next week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in The Hale?

The Hale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in The Hale. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a The Hale flat is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71.55 years.