There are only 62 years left on my flat in Cardiff Bay. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cardiff Bay.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Cardiff Bay.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 unless 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Cardiff Bay. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Cardiff Bay are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cardiff Bay so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Cardiff Bay conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold house in Cardiff Bay. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Cardiff Bay who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Cardiff Bay conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Cardiff Bay where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Cardiff Bay conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 purchaser.

Cardiff Bay Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

You should be aware that where the lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Cardiff Baylease extensions you will be required to have owned the residence for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. Who are the managing agents? Many Cardiff Bay leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

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Lease Extensions in Cardiff Bay