Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Shinfield. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Shinfield.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Shinfield. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Shinfield please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Shinfield

I am attracted to a two apartments in Shinfield which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Shinfield. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Shinfield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Shinfield next week. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Shinfield?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Shinfield conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Shinfield
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shinfield leasehold premises is £350. For Shinfield conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Shinfield, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Shinfield with an extended lease are worth £245,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098

With just 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shinfield