There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Upney. I now wish 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Upney.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Upney. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• 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
• 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 premises 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 options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I work for a long established estate agency in Upney where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Upney conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 choosing a Upney conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Upney conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Upney conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Upney in the last 12 months?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Upney with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upney can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Upney levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upney.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Upney state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• A minority of Upney 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Upney. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Upney conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upney residence is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.36 years.

Upney Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing