Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Upper Walthamstow. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Upper Walthamstow.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Upper Walthamstow. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Upper Walthamstow should include some of the following:

• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?

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

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Upper Walthamstow please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Upper Walthamstow

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Upper Walthamstow.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 managing agents 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.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Upper Walthamstow where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Upper Walthamstow conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 wait 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 at the same time as 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £175000 flat in Upper Walthamstow next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Upper Walthamstow?

For most leasehold sales in Upper Walthamstow conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Upper Walthamstow
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Upper Walthamstow leasehold property is £350. For Upper Walthamstow 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 supply the information.

Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Upper Walthamstow. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Upper Walthamstow conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Upper Walthamstow premises is 32 Howard Road in June 2012. the Tribunal held that premium payable for the freehold reversion should be £35,825 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 64 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Upper Walthamstow