I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Basingstoke. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 for permission 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 have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document 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 in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Basingstoke.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Basingstoke. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Basingstoke should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

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.

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Basingstoke please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Basingstoke

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Basingstoke. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Basingstoke where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Basingstoke conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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.

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 our sale of a £450000 flat in Basingstoke next week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Basingstoke?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Basingstoke conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Basingstoke
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Basingstoke leasehold premises is £350. For Basingstoke 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 provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Basingstoke - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Can you tell me if there are any major works anticipated that will likely increase the service costs? It is important to be aware whether redecorating or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared between the tenants and could well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one off invoice. Most Basingstoke leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly throughout the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.

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Lease Extensions in Basingstoke