Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Pontypool. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. 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 overseeing Pontypool.

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Pontypool. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pontypool should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

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.

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Pontypool please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Pontypool

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Pontypool. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Pontypool who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Pontypool conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pontypool from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pontypool can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• A minority of Pontypool leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Pontypool home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £475000 apartment in Pontypool next week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pontypool?

Pontypool conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Pontypool
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pontypool leasehold premises is £350. For Pontypool 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Pontypool - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with remaining years on 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 would be required to have owned the property for two years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. You should want to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask other people if they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. Make sure you investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Pontypool. If you like the flatin Pontypool yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pontypool