Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Tewkesbury. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tewkesbury.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Tewkesbury where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Tewkesbury conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tewkesbury conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Tewkesbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Tewkesbury who can give a testimonial?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tewkesbury with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tewkesbury can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Tewkesbury charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tewkesbury.

If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Tewkesbury state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Tewkesbury home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £325000 apartment in Tewkesbury next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Tewkesbury?

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

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

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tewkesbury leasehold premises is £350. For Tewkesbury 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 required to provide the information.

Tewkesbury Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Many Tewkesbury leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly accross the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or require a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tewkesbury