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Sample questions relating to Cleckheaton leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Cleckheaton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Cleckheaton.

I own a leasehold flat in Cleckheaton. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Cleckheaton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Cleckheaton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Cleckheaton. 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 be sure 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 agent office in Cleckheaton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Cleckheaton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cleckheaton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cleckheaton can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Cleckheaton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cleckheaton.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Cleckheaton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Cleckheaton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cleckheaton conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Cleckheaton, conveyancing was carried out 1999. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Cleckheaton with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

    With only 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive 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 clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cleckheaton