Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Sea Mills. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Sea Mills.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Sea Mills. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Sea Mills ?

The majority of houses in Sea Mills are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Sea Mills in which case you should be looking for a Sea Mills conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Sea Mills. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Sea Mills who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Sea Mills conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Sea Mills where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Sea Mills conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Sea Mills conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sea Mills conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sea Mills conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Sea Mills, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Sea Mills with a long lease are worth £184,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

With only 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £25,700 and £29,600 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sea Mills