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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Chester, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Chester leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Chester. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chester.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Chester. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Chester ?

The majority of houses in Chester 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. it is apparent that you are buying in Chester in which case you should be looking for a Chester conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Chester where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Chester conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Chester with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chester can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Chester leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Chester leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Chester home move. If a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Chester what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Chester is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Chester - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      Plenty Chester leasehold properties will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Are there any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? The answer will be important as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chester