Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Whittlesey. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Whittlesey - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 68 years left on my lease in Whittlesey. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Whittlesey.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Whittlesey. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Whittlesey ?

The majority of houses in Whittlesey are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Whittlesey so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Whittlesey conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Whittlesey. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 work for a long established estate agent office in Whittlesey where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Whittlesey conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Whittlesey - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? In the main the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Whittlesey ask leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. What is the the remaining lease term?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Whittlesey