I only have 72 years remaining on my lease in Stretford. I now want 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 submit an application 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. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Stretford.

I own a leasehold house in Stretford. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Stretford who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Stretford conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Stretford. 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Stretford where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stretford conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £425000 maisonette in Stretford on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Stretford?

Stretford conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Stretford
• 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 Stretford leasehold premises is £350. For Stretford 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stretford - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who are the managing agents? Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared between the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a one time invoice. Most Stretford leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly 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 rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

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Lease Extensions in Stretford