Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Chorlton. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chorlton.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Chorlton. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Chorlton please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Chorlton

I work for a reputable estate agency in Chorlton where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Chorlton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Chorlton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Chorlton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Chorlton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 350000 flat in Chorlton in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chorlton?

Chorlton conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Chorlton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chorlton leasehold premises 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 required to provide the information.

Chorlton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

The majority of Chorlton leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.