Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Clarbeston Road. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Clarbeston Road.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Clarbeston Road. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Clarbeston Road who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Clarbeston Road conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Clarbeston Road. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Clarbeston Road where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Clarbeston Road conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Clarbeston Road conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Clarbeston Road conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Clarbeston Road conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Clarbeston Road Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Clarbeston Road obliged tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Are there any major works in the planning that will likely increase the maintenance fees?

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Lease Extensions in Clarbeston Road