I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in New Brighton. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing New Brighton.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in New Brighton.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 management companies 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 looking at a two flats in New Brighton which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in New Brighton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 premises 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 New Brighton 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 any new 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 am employed by a long established estate agent office in New Brighton where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local New Brighton conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £275000 flat in New Brighton next week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in New Brighton?

New Brighton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in New Brighton - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in New Brighton obliged tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. Make sure you find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in New Brighton leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in New Brighton. If you love the apartmentin New Brighton yet your cat can’t move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in New Brighton