There are only 72 years left on my lease in Burnley. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Burnley.

I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Burnley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Burnley should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Burnley both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Burnley is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Burnley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Burnley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £300000 apartment in Burnley on Thursday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Burnley?

Burnley conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Burnley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people what they think of their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money. For most Burnley leaseholds the cost for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Burnley require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Please tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the service costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Burnley