I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bradford. 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 owner 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 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 employed by a reputable estate agent office in Bradford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Bradford conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bradford with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bradford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bradford state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• Some Bradford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 350000 flat in Bradford in six days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bradford?

Bradford conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Bradford properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bradford is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bradford - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.