There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Sutton in Ashfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may 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 overseeing Sutton in Ashfield.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Sutton in Ashfield. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Sutton in Ashfield who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Sutton in Ashfield conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Sutton in Ashfield. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £500000 garden flat in Sutton in Ashfield in just under 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 such fees for a flat conveyance in Sutton in Ashfield?

Sutton in Ashfield conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Sutton in Ashfield lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Sutton in Ashfield is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Sutton in Ashfield Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Sutton in Ashfield obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger works. Many Sutton in Ashfield leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This could differ from a few 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 yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. What is the name of the managing agents?

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Lease Extensions in Sutton in Ashfield