I only have Seventy years left on my lease in Tunbridge Wells. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Tunbridge Wells.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Tunbridge Wells. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or working from home

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Tunbridge Wells please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Tunbridge Wells

I work for a long established estate agency in Tunbridge Wells where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Tunbridge Wells conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Tunbridge Wells conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tunbridge Wells conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Tunbridge Wells conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Tunbridge Wells who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Tunbridge Wells next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Tunbridge Wells?

For most leasehold sales in Tunbridge Wells conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Tunbridge Wells
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Tunbridge Wells leasehold premises is £350. For Tunbridge Wells 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.

Tunbridge Wells Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

Many Tunbridge Wells leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally periodically accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. You will want to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will increase the service fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tunbridge Wells