I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Stamford Bridge. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stamford Bridge.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Stamford Bridge. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home

You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Stamford Bridge please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Stamford Bridge

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Stamford Bridge. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Stamford Bridge who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Stamford Bridge conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Stamford Bridge. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £300000 apartment in Stamford Bridge in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stamford Bridge?

Stamford Bridge conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Stamford Bridge
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stamford Bridge leasehold premises is £350. For Stamford Bridge 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.

I invested in buying a studio flat in Stamford Bridge, conveyancing was carried out in 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Stamford Bridge with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096

You have 75 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information 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 should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Stamford Bridge