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Cheetham Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Cheetham Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 62 years remaining on my lease in Cheetham Hill. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Cheetham Hill.

Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Cheetham Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Cheetham Hill please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Cheetham Hill

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Cheetham Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Cheetham Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £200000 flat in Cheetham Hill on Thursday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Cheetham Hill?

    Cheetham Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    I bought a basement flat in Cheetham Hill, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Cheetham Hill with a long lease are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

    With 71 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheetham Hill