Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Ouston. I now wish 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 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ouston.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Ouston.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Ouston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Ouston where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Ouston conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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.

What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Ouston properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Ouston is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Ouston Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Ouston obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. Many Ouston leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block set by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments accross the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be prudent to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Ouston leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Ouston. If you like the flatin Ouston however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ouston