There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Hurworth. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare 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 devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Hurworth.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Hurworth. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Hurworth conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hurworth conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Hurworth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can they put you in touch with client in Hurworth who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Hurworth charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth.

A minority of Hurworth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 lawyers.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Hurworth home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £125000 maisonette in Hurworth next week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Hurworth?

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

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hurworth
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hurworth leasehold property is £350. For Hurworth 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 supply answers.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Hurworth, conveyancing having been completed 2010. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Hurworth with an extended lease are worth £196,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086

With 63 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to 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 Hurworth