I only have Seventy years remaining on my lease in The Hyde. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing The Hyde.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in The Hyde. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I've recently bought a leasehold property in The Hyde. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in The Hyde next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in The Hyde?

The Hyde conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a The Hyde conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a The Hyde property is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71 years.

Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for The Hyde properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in The Hyde is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.