I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in High Peak. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering High Peak.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in High Peak.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in High Peak. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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 am employed by a reputable estate agency in High Peak where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local High Peak conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in High Peak from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in High Peak can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in High Peak levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in High Peak.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? High Peak leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of High Peak leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Leasehold Conveyancing in High Peak - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The majority of High Peak leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be wise to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is very common in High Peak leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in High Peak. If you love the apartmentin High Peak yet your cat can’t move with you then you have a very hard compromise.