There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Cambridge. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cambridge.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Cambridge.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Cambridge. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. 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 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Cambridge who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Cambridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Cambridge where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Cambridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Cambridge levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Cambridge state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify 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.

Cambridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? Make sure you enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Cambridge. If you love the propertyin Cambridge yet your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard choice.