I own a leasehold house in Fishponds. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Fishponds who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Fishponds conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, 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 apartments in Fishponds both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Fishponds. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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 work for a long established estate agent office in Fishponds where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Fishponds conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Fishponds conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Fishponds conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Fishponds conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Fishponds Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due shortly to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific payment. Most Fishponds leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fishponds