I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Kidwelly. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If 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. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Kidwelly.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Kidwelly. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Kidwelly ?

Most houses in Kidwelly are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Kidwelly so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Kidwelly conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Kidwelly which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Kidwelly. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Kidwelly where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Kidwelly conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 flat in Kidwelly on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Kidwelly?

Kidwelly conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kidwelly
• 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 Kidwelly leasehold property is £350. For Kidwelly 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 obliged to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kidwelly - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is pending that will be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a specific payment. What prohibitions are contained in the Kidwelly Lease? For most Kidwelly leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Kidwelly require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kidwelly