I only have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Driffield. I need 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Driffield.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Driffield. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Driffield who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Driffield conveyancing firm 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Driffield from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Driffield can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Driffield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Driffield.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Driffield leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• A minority of Driffield leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 400000 maisonette in Driffield next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Driffield?

Driffield conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Driffield lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Driffield. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Driffield - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Driffield require leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works. Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? Who manages the building?