I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Welling. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Welling.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Welling. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I own a leasehold flat in Welling. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Welling who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Welling conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Welling where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Welling conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 500000 apartment in Welling next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Welling?

Welling conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by 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 demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Welling. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case 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 affected 1 flat.

I purchased a garden flat in Welling, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Welling with an extended lease are worth £183,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2101

You have 75 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.