I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Piccadilly. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Piccadilly.

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

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Piccadilly. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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 options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Piccadilly please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Piccadilly

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Piccadilly.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 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.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Piccadilly. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Piccadilly who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Piccadilly conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 250000 flat in Piccadilly in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Piccadilly?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Piccadilly
• 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 Piccadilly leasehold premises is £350. For Piccadilly 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 obliged to provide the information.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Piccadilly conveyancing firm to assist?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Piccadilly conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Piccadilly flat is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 21 years.

Piccadilly Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Plenty Piccadilly leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block set by the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. In the main the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Piccadilly require leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.