Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Cotswolds. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home

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

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

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 For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cotswolds please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Cotswolds

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Cotswolds. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Cotswolds conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cotswolds conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Cotswolds conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Cotswolds in the last year?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £500000 flat in Cotswolds in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Cotswolds?

For most leasehold sales in Cotswolds conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cotswolds
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cotswolds leasehold property is £350. For Cotswolds 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.

What makes a Cotswolds lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cotswolds. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed 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, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Cotswolds Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Please inform me if there are any major works in the near future that could increase the service costs? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? If a Cotswolds lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Cotswoldslease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cotswolds