Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in North London. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering North London.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in North London. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in North London who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a North London conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in North London which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in North London from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North London can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in North London state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

A minority of North London leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a North London conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £225000 apartment in North London next Tuesday . The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in North London?

North London conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in North London
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for North London leasehold property is £350. For North London conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in North London. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder 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 decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a North London residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North London