I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Whitechapel. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Whitechapel.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Whitechapel.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Whitechapel. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Whitechapel ?

The majority of houses in Whitechapel are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Whitechapel so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Whitechapel conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Whitechapel. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Whitechapel who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Whitechapel conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Whitechapel where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Whitechapel conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Whitechapel. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Whitechapel conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Whitechapel flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case related to 41 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 107 years.