There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Walkington. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence 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 Walkington.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Walkington. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Walkington should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Walkington please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Walkington

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Walkington. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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 be sure 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Walkington where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Walkington conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £350000 flat in Walkington next Thursday . The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Walkington?

Walkington conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates fees being raised by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Walkington
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Walkington leasehold property is £350. For Walkington 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 obliged to supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Walkington - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The majority of Walkington leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will increase the service fees? What is the annual service fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Walkington