There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Chorlton. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chorlton.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Chorlton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Chorlton should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Chorlton please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Chorlton

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Chorlton. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Chorlton who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Chorlton conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chorlton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chorlton can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Chorlton state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Chorlton conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £450000 flat in Chorlton next week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chorlton?

Chorlton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chorlton
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chorlton leasehold property is £350. For Chorlton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chorlton - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

How much is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Is there a share of the freehold? Where a Chorlton lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chorlton