Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Darwen. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Darwen.

Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in Darwen. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Darwen should include some of the following:

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

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Darwen. Do I have any liability for 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 reputable estate agency in Darwen where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Darwen conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Darwen conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Darwen conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Darwen conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

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

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Darwen, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Darwen with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With 62 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional 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 based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Darwen