I only have Fifty years left on my flat in South Shields. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing South Shields.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in South Shields.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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've recently bought a leasehold house in South Shields. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 apartment in South Shields in 5 days. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in South Shields?

South Shields conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in South Shields
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for South Shields leasehold property is £350. For South Shields 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 obliged to provide answers.

What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for South Shields properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in South Shields. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

South Shields Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

What prohibitions are there in the South Shields Lease? The best form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy control and even though a managing agent is usually retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It would be prudent to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other people if they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in South Shields