There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Hamworthy. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hamworthy.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Hamworthy. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hamworthy please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Hamworthy

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Hamworthy where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hamworthy conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £350000 garden flat in Hamworthy next week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hamworthy?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Hamworthy conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hamworthy
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hamworthy leasehold premises is £350. For Hamworthy 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.

What makes a Hamworthy lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hamworthy. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Hamworthy, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Hamworthy with an extended lease are worth £229,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2100

With 75 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Hamworthy