Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Liverpool. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Liverpool.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Liverpool. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Liverpool should include some of the following:

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Liverpool please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Liverpool

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Liverpool. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Liverpool conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Liverpool. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 450000 apartment in Liverpool on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Liverpool?

Liverpool conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times necessitates fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Liverpool
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Liverpool leasehold premises is £350. For Liverpool 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 provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Liverpool - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one time invoice. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?