Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Woodside Park. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Woodside Park.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Woodside Park. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business

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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Woodside Park please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Woodside Park

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Woodside Park. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Woodside Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Woodside Park conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Woodside Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

All being well we will complete our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Woodside Park in just under a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woodside Park?

Woodside Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally results in administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woodside Park
• 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 Woodside Park leasehold property is £350. For Woodside Park 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.

Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodside Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Woodside Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Woodside Park premises is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.