Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Aston on Trent. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Aston on Trent.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Aston on Trent. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Aston on Trent where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Aston on Trent conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Aston on Trent conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Aston on Trent conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Aston on Trent conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Aston on Trent in the last 12 months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Aston on Trent from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Aston on Trent can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Aston on Trent state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over 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 duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Aston on Trent home move. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible 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.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Aston on Trent, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Aston on Trent with over 90 years remaining are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2097

With just 71 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.