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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Prenton, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Prenton leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Prenton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Prenton.

I own a leasehold house in Prenton. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Prenton who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Prenton conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Prenton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 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).

I work for a busy estate agent office in Prenton where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Prenton conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Prenton with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Prenton can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Prenton state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Prenton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Prenton conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I own a split level flat in Prenton, conveyancing formalities finalised 2001. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Prenton with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

    With only 54 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Prenton