There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Shoreditch. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Shoreditch.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Shoreditch. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Shoreditch ?

The majority of houses in Shoreditch are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Shoreditch so you should seriously consider looking for a Shoreditch conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Shoreditch where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Shoreditch conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 at the same time as 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shoreditch with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shoreditch can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Shoreditch state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Shoreditch leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 300000 maisonette in Shoreditch next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Shoreditch?

Shoreditch conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Shoreditch. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Shoreditch flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.39 years.

Shoreditch Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?