There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Hengoed. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Hengoed.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Hengoed.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Hengoed. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Hengoed who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Hengoed conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Hengoed where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Hengoed conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hengoed from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hengoed can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Hengoed leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• Some Hengoed leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Hengoed home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Hengoed, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Hengoed with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2106

With 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 before getting professional advice.