I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Barton Le Clay. 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Barton Le Clay.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Barton Le Clay.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Barton Le Clay. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Barton Le Clay who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Barton Le Clay conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Barton Le Clay where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Barton Le Clay conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Barton Le Clay conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barton Le Clay conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Barton Le Clay 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?

Barton Le Clay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy control and although a managing agent is often employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared amongst the tenants and could well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a one time payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barton Le Clay