Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Primrose Hill. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Primrose Hill.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Primrose Hill conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Primrose Hill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Primrose Hill with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Primrose Hill can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Primrose Hill charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Primrose Hill.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Primrose Hill state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• A minority of Primrose Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 175000 apartment in Primrose Hill next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Primrose Hill?

Primrose Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Primrose Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Primrose Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Primrose Hill residence is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.

What makes a Primrose Hill lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Primrose Hill is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Primrose Hill, conveyancing formalities finalised 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Primrose Hill with a long lease are worth £261,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2077

With just 51 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.