I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Pentyrch. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Pentyrch - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Pentyrch. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to try and locate 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 conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Pentyrch.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Pentyrch.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Pentyrch. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Pentyrch who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Pentyrch conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Pentyrch. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Pentyrch Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Plenty Pentyrch leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is coming up to be shared between the leasehold owners and could well materially impact the level of the service fees or result in a one time payment. The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pentyrch