There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Wennington. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Wennington.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Wennington. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Wennington are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Wennington in which case you should be looking for a Wennington conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Wennington. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Wennington who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Wennington conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Wennington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wennington conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Wennington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 apartment in Wennington in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Wennington?

Wennington conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wennington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Wennington premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Wennington - Sample of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice. If a Wennington lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Wenningtonlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.