I only have 68 years left on my flat in Bollington. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bollington.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bollington. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bollington ?

The majority of houses in Bollington are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bollington so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Bollington conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Bollington. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Bollington who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bollington conveyancing solicitor 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 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Bollington. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, 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 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Bollington where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bollington conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 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 prior to, 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.

Bollington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing