I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Kings Heath. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Kings Heath.

I own a leasehold flat in Kings Heath. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Kings Heath who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Kings Heath conveyancing practitioner 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 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Kings Heath conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kings Heath conveyancing firm) 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 talk with two or three firms including non Kings Heath conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kings Heath with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kings Heath can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Kings Heath state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• Some Kings Heath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What makes a Kings Heath lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kings Heath. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem 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, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I bought a split level flat in Kings Heath, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Kings Heath with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2104

You have 78 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.