Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in West Hendon. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing West Hendon.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in West Hendon. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Hendon should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in West Hendon please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in West Hendon

I own a leasehold flat in West Hendon. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in West Hendon who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a West Hendon conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in West Hendon both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in West Hendon is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with West Hendon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 garden flat in West Hendon in just under a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in West Hendon?

West Hendon conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in West Hendon
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for West Hendon leasehold premises is £350. For West Hendon 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 provide answers.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in West Hendon. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Hendon residence is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

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Lease Extensions in West Hendon