I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Boscastle. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Boscastle.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Boscastle. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Boscastle who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Boscastle conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Boscastle which have about fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Boscastle. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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 busy estate agent office in Boscastle where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Boscastle conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Boscastle Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. If a Boscastle lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a one off invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Boscastle