Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Fareham. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct 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 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Fareham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Fareham conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Fareham which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Fareham. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Fareham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Fareham where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Fareham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Fareham conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Fareham conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Fareham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

I acquired a leasehold flat in Fareham, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Fareham with a long lease are worth £172,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2095

With just 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Fareham