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Recently asked questions relating to Milton Keynes leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Milton Keynes. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Milton Keynes.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Milton Keynes. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Milton Keynes please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Milton Keynes

    • I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Milton Keynes.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

    It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Milton Keynes where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Milton Keynes conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Milton Keynes with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Milton Keynes can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Milton Keynes state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Milton Keynes leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Milton Keynes home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Milton Keynes - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      For most Milton Keynes leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Milton Keynes require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. Make sure you investigate if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Milton Keynes. If you love the apartmentin Milton Keynes but your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a hard determination. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Milton Keynes