There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Formby. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Formby.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Formby where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Formby conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Formby conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Formby conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Formby conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Formby with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Formby can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Formby state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £225000 maisonette in Formby next week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Formby?

Formby conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a leasehold flat in Formby, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Formby with a long lease are worth £210,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2093

With only 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Formby