I have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my flat in Hoyland. 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 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 prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce 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 conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Hoyland.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Hoyland. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Hoyland who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Hoyland conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hoyland. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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 busy estate agency in Hoyland where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hoyland conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 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 wait 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 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 buyer.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Hoyland next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hoyland?

Hoyland conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hoyland - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Where a Hoyland lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. What is the the remaining lease term? It would be a good idea to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Hoyland leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Hoyland. If you like the apartmentin Hoyland but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hoyland