Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Quedgeley. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Quedgeley.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Quedgeley. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Quedgeley ?

The majority of houses in Quedgeley are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Quedgeley in which case you should be shopping around for a Quedgeley conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Quedgeley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Quedgeley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Quedgeley conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Quedgeley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Quedgeley in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Quedgeley state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• Some Quedgeley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Quedgeley home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Quedgeley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Does the lease include onerous restrictions?