I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Redruth. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Redruth.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Redruth. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Redruth.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Redruth where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Redruth conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £125000 apartment in Redruth in just under a week. The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Redruth?

Redruth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice 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.

Redruth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? For many Redruth leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Redruth ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Redruth