There are only 68 years left on my flat in Tredegar. I need to get lease extension 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Tredegar.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Tredegar. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Tredegar who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Tredegar conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two flats in Tredegar both have about forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Tredegar is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Tredegar conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Tredegar where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Tredegar conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 buyer 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tredegar. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

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

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, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Tredegar, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Tredegar with over 90 years remaining are worth £258,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

With only 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £34,200 and £39,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.