I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in The Borough. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in The Borough - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in The Borough. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing The Borough.

I own a leasehold house in The Borough. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in The Borough 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 claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a The Borough conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in The Borough. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in The Borough what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in The Borough is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in The Borough, conveyancing having been completed in 2011. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in The Borough with an extended lease are worth £267,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2087

With only 62 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in The Borough