I only have 62 years left on my flat in Mancot. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Mancot.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Mancot. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Mancot are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Mancot so you should seriously consider looking for a Mancot conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Mancot. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Mancot who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Mancot conveyancing firm 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 freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Mancot. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Mancot conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mancot conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Mancot conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Mancot Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they can either make your life much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other people if they are happy with them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mancot