I only have 72 years remaining on my lease in Leamington Spa. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Leamington Spa.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Leamington Spa. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Leamington Spa who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Leamington Spa conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Leamington Spa which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Leamington Spa. 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. 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).

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Leamington Spa properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Leamington Spa. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leamington Spa Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

How much is the annual service fee and ground rent? Many Leamington Spa leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly during the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. On the whole the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Leamington Spa ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Leamington Spa