There are only Fifty years left on my flat in North London. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering North London.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in North London. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in North London should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in North London please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in North London

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in North London.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in North London. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in North London ?

Most houses in North London are freehold and not 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. It is clear that you are buying in North London so you should seriously consider looking for a North London conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 150000 maisonette in North London next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in North London?

North London conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in administration charges raised by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in North London
• 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 North London leasehold property is £350. For North London 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 provide the information.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a North London conveyancing firm to represent me?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a North London premises is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in North London - A selection of Queries before buying

Are there any major works anticipated that will likely add a premium to the maintenance charges? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other people what they think of their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details