I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Berrylands. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Berrylands.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Berrylands. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Berrylands are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Berrylands so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Berrylands conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Berrylands. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Berrylands who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First 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 instruct a Berrylands conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Berrylands which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Berrylands is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Berrylands conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Berrylands where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Berrylands conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Berrylands. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Berrylands residence is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case affected 1 flat.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Berrylands