There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Gatley. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Gatley.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Gatley. Conveyancing and Yorkshire 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 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Gatley who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Gatley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Gatley where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Gatley conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 appointing a Gatley conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Gatley conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Gatley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Gatley in the last twenty four months?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gatley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Gatley can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Gatley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gatley.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Gatley state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Gatley home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I own a leasehold flat in Gatley, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Gatley with a long lease are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2076

With 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £37,100 and £42,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive 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 take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.