Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Cotswolds. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can 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 application to the County Court overseeing Cotswolds.

Expecting to exchange soon on a basement flat in Cotswolds. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

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 details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Cotswolds please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cotswolds

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Cotswolds.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Cotswolds. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Cotswolds who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Cotswolds conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

We expect to complete our sale of a £150000 apartment in Cotswolds next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cotswolds?

Cotswolds conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• 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 solicitor 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.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Cotswolds, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Cotswolds with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

With 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Cotswolds