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Recently asked questions relating to Penzance leasehold conveyancing

There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Penzance. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Penzance.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Penzance. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Penzance please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Penzance

    • Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Penzance. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Penzance who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Penzance conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I work for a reputable estate agent office in Penzance where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Penzance conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Penzance from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Penzance can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Penzance leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Penzance leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Penzance conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) 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 conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Penzance - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      You should be aware if it is less than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Penzance