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Common questions relating to Dorchester leasehold conveyancing

I only have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Dorchester. 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Dorchester.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Dorchester. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Dorchester where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Dorchester conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Dorchester state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • A minority of Dorchester leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Dorchester home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • What are the frequently found deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Dorchester properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Dorchester Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      This question is helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it What is the length of the lease? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dorchester