There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Brighouse. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Brighouse.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Brighouse. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Brighouse who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Brighouse conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Brighouse conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Brighouse conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Brighouse conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brighouse from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brighouse can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Brighouse charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brighouse.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Brighouse leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

A minority of Brighouse leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £400000 maisonette in Brighouse in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Brighouse?

Brighouse conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Brighouse
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Brighouse leasehold property is £350. For Brighouse 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.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Brighouse, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Brighouse with over 90 years remaining are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098

With only 74 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brighouse