I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Oakwood. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Oakwood.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Oakwood. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Oakwood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

I work for a busy estate agency in Oakwood where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Oakwood conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Oakwood with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Oakwood can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• A minority of Oakwood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Oakwood home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a basement flat in Oakwood, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Oakwood with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2103

You have 77 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.