I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Wanstead. I need to get lease extension 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wanstead.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Wanstead. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Wanstead who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Wanstead conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Wanstead both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Wanstead. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Wanstead conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wanstead conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Wanstead conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £500000 flat in Wanstead next week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Wanstead?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wanstead
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wanstead leasehold property is £350. For Wanstead 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.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Wanstead. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Wanstead premises is 36 New Wanstead in August 2010. The Tribunal arrived at a valuation of the premium for the freehold of £22,359. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 73.92 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wanstead