Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Turvey. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare 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 in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Turvey.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Turvey. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Turvey ?

The majority of houses in Turvey are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Turvey so you should seriously consider looking for a Turvey conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Turvey. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Turvey who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Turvey conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note 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 couple of flats in Turvey both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What makes a Turvey lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Turvey is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Turvey Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Are there any major works in the planning that will increase the maintenance costs? Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is pending to be shared between the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Turvey