Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Tower Hill. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Tower Hill.

I am attracted to a two flats in Tower Hill both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Tower Hill. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Tower Hill. 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. 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Tower Hill where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Tower Hill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 275000 flat in Tower Hill in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Tower Hill?

Tower Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Tower Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Tower Hill premises 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 related to 41 flats. The unexpired term was 107 years.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Tower Hill, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Tower Hill with an extended lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2077

With 51 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £34,200 and £39,600 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure 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 other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.