I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Burnley. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Burnley.

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Burnley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Burnley. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society 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 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Burnley who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Burnley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Burnley. Do I have any liability for 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. However, 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Burnley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Burnley conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Burnley Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Its a good idea to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours if they are happy with them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Burnley