Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Shaftesbury. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Shaftesbury.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Shaftesbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Shaftesbury. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. However, 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 be sure 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 am employed by a busy estate agent office in Shaftesbury where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Shaftesbury conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Shaftesbury conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Shaftesbury conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Shaftesbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

I inherited a studio flat in Shaftesbury, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Shaftesbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £266,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092

With 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shaftesbury