I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Maldon. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Maldon.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Maldon.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Maldon. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Maldon who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Maldon conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Maldon where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Maldon conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 maisonette in Maldon next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Maldon?

Maldon conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I own a basement flat in Maldon, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Maldon with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2077

With just 51 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.