I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Welling. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Welling.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Welling.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Welling. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Welling are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Welling in which case you should be looking for a Welling conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Welling from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Welling can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Welling state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £400000 maisonette in Welling in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Welling?

Welling conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to 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 is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Having spent years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Welling. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Welling residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Welling