Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Crewe. I now want 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Crewe.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Crewe. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Crewe who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Crewe conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Crewe where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Crewe conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Crewe conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crewe conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Crewe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

Completion in due on our sale of a £150000 maisonette in Crewe next week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Crewe?

Crewe conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Crewe
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crewe leasehold property is £350. For Crewe 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 supply the information.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Crewe, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Crewe with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

With only 54 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crewe