I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Slough. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Slough.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Slough.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Slough both have about fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Slough. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Slough. 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

What makes a Slough lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Slough. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Slough Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Many Slough leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this charge, usually periodically throughout the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Who manages the block? You should be aware if it is fewer than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Slough