My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Dunstable. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Dunstable who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Dunstable conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Dunstable which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Dunstable. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Dunstable conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Dunstable conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Dunstable 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 helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dunstable from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dunstable can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Dunstable leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Dunstable leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise 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 identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Dunstable Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing