Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Stansted. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Stansted.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Stansted. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stansted should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Stansted please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Stansted

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Stansted. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Stansted are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Stansted so you should seriously consider looking for a Stansted conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Stansted where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stansted conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £350000 flat in Stansted in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stansted?

For most leasehold sales in Stansted conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Stansted
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stansted leasehold premises is £350. For Stansted 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 supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stansted - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Stansted lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Stanstedlease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. In the main the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Stansted obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stansted