I only have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Irlam. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Irlam.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Irlam. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 be sure 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Irlam conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Irlam conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Irlam conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £425000 maisonette in Irlam in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Irlam?

Irlam conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Irlam properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Irlam is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Irlam Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Irlam