I only have 62 years left on my lease in Upton Park. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Upton Park.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Upton Park. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Upton Park are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Upton Park so you should seriously consider looking for a Upton Park conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. 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 part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Upton Park. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Upton Park who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Upton Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Upton Park where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Upton Park conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Upton Park with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upton Park can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Upton Park state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Upton Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Upton Park home move. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Upton Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Upton Park flat is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.77 years.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Upton Park, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in Upton Park with an extended lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

You have 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.