I only have 68 years left on my flat in New Forest. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering New Forest.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in New Forest. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in New Forest should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or basement if appropriate.

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in New Forest please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in New Forest

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in New Forest. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in New Forest are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in New Forest in which case you should be shopping around for a New Forest conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in New Forest with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Forest can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in New Forest charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Forest.

A minority of New Forest leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a New Forest conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £275000 garden flat in New Forest next week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in New Forest?

For most leasehold sales in New Forest conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in New Forest
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 New Forest leasehold premises is £350. For New Forest 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 obliged to provide answers.

New Forest Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared by the tenants and will materially increase the the service charges or require a specific payment. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Be sure to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in New Forest leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in New Forest. If you like the propertyin New Forest however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in New Forest