There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Tower Hill. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. 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 can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Tower Hill.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Tower Hill.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Tower Hill. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tower Hill from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tower Hill can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Tower Hill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tower Hill.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Tower Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Tower Hill conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 325000 maisonette in Tower Hill in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Tower Hill?

Tower Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Tower Hill
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tower Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Tower Hill conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Tower Hill. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Tower Hill residence is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 107 years.

Tower Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying