There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Camden Town. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Camden Town.

I own a leasehold house in Camden Town. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Camden Town who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Camden Town conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Camden Town which have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Camden Town. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Camden Town conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Camden Town conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Camden Town conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £225000 maisonette in Camden Town next week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Camden Town?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Camden Town
• 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 Camden Town leasehold property is £350. For Camden Town 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 provide answers.

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Camden Town. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Camden Town property is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.79 years.