There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Ellesmere Port. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ellesmere Port.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ellesmere Port. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Ellesmere Port conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ellesmere Port conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Ellesmere Port conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can they put you in touch with client in Ellesmere Port who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Ellesmere Port levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Ellesmere Port leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £400000 flat in Ellesmere Port in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ellesmere Port?

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

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ellesmere Port
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Ellesmere Port leasehold premises is £350. For Ellesmere Port 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 the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ellesmere Port - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building? It would be sensible to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is very common in Ellesmere Port leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Ellesmere Port. If you love the flatin Ellesmere Port but your dog can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Many Ellesmere Port leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the landlord. Where you buy the property you will have to pay this liability, usually periodically throughout the year. This may vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ellesmere Port