I only have 68 years remaining on my lease in Woodlands. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Woodlands.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Woodlands. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

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 Woodlands please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Woodlands

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

It best that you pay 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Woodlands. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodlands who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Woodlands conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £325000 apartment in Woodlands next week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Woodlands?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Woodlands conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woodlands
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Woodlands leasehold premises is £350. For Woodlands 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.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Woodlands. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Woodlands premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.