There are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Falmouth. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Falmouth.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Falmouth. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Falmouth please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Falmouth

I own a leasehold flat in Falmouth. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Falmouth who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Falmouth conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Falmouth which have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Falmouth. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Completion in due on the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in Falmouth on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Falmouth?

Falmouth conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Falmouth
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Falmouth leasehold premises is £350. For Falmouth 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 provide the information.

Falmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? Does the lease include onerous restrictions? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Falmouth