There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Uxbridge. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Uxbridge.

I own a leasehold flat in Uxbridge. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Uxbridge who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Uxbridge conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Uxbridge levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Uxbridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Uxbridge home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £275000 garden flat in Uxbridge on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Uxbridge?

Uxbridge conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Uxbridge
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Uxbridge leasehold property is £350. For Uxbridge 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 required to supply answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Uxbridge conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Uxbridge residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69 years.

What makes a Uxbridge lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Uxbridge