Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Wormwood Scrubs. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. 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 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 prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Wormwood Scrubs.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Wormwood Scrubs. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Wormwood Scrubs are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Wormwood Scrubs in which case you should be shopping around for a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Wormwood Scrubs where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Wormwood Scrubs who can give a testimonial?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 maisonette in Wormwood Scrubs next week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Wormwood Scrubs?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Wormwood Scrubs
• 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 Wormwood Scrubs leasehold premises is £350. For Wormwood Scrubs 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 the information.

Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wormwood Scrubs residence is 23 & 23A Collingbourne Road in June 2013. Tribunal was dealing with the assessment of the value of the freehold reversion and determination of the terms of the acquisition pursuant to an Order of District Judge Lightman dated 25 February 2013 vesting the freehold interest in the property in the applicant. The tribunal assessed the price of the freehold (to which any arrears or other sums due to the missing landlord under the leases should be added) at £81,638. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 64.5 years.