I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Moelfre. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Moelfre.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Moelfre. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Moelfre please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Moelfre

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Moelfre. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Moelfre who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Moelfre conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Moelfre where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Moelfre conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 purchaser.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £425000 maisonette in Moelfre next week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Moelfre?

Moelfre conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Moelfre
• 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 Moelfre leasehold premises is £350. For Moelfre 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 answers.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Moelfre, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Moelfre with over 90 years remaining are worth £249,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2084

You have 59 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £25,700 and £29,600 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Moelfre