I only have 72 years left on my flat in Newcastle upon Tyne. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Newcastle upon Tyne.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Newcastle upon Tyne.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle upon Tyne with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle upon Tyne can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Newcastle upon Tyne leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Newcastle upon Tyne conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £250000 flat in Newcastle upon Tyne next week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Newcastle upon Tyne?

Newcastle upon Tyne conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Newcastle upon Tyne
• 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 Newcastle upon Tyne leasehold property is £350. For Newcastle upon Tyne 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 supply the information.

What are the common problems that you encounter in leases for Newcastle upon Tyne properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Newcastle upon Tyne. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Newcastle upon Tyne - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Does this lease have in excess of 85 years unexpired? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? If a Newcastle upon Tyne lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newcastle upon Tyne