I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my flat in The Hyde. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing The Hyde.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in The Hyde. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in The Hyde ?

Most houses in The Hyde are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in The Hyde in which case you should be looking for a The Hyde conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in The Hyde. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in The Hyde who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a The Hyde conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in The Hyde where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local The Hyde conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 can avoid having 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 sale.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in The Hyde from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in The Hyde can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in The Hyde levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in The Hyde.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in The Hyde state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a The Hyde home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a The Hyde conveyancing firm to represent me?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a The Hyde conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a The Hyde property is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 71 years.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in The Hyde, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in The Hyde with an extended lease are worth £252,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2079

With just 53 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.