There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Rawcliffe. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Rawcliffe.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Rawcliffe. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Rawcliffe should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I own a leasehold flat in Rawcliffe. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Rawcliffe who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Rawcliffe conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Rawcliffe where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Rawcliffe conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. This means 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £125000 flat in Rawcliffe in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Rawcliffe?

Rawcliffe conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Rawcliffe, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Rawcliffe with an extended lease are worth £179,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2074

With just 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £33,300 and £38,400 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rawcliffe