I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Congleton. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Congleton.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Congleton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Congleton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 buyer can avoid having 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 disposal of the property.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Congleton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Congleton can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Congleton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

Some Congleton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Congleton conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £450000 maisonette in Congleton on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Congleton?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Congleton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Congleton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Congleton leasehold premises is £350. For Congleton 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 required to supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Congleton what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Congleton. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• 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 issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I bought a studio flat in Congleton, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Congleton with a long lease are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Congleton