I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Swinton. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Swinton.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Swinton. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Swinton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Swinton conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Swinton where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Swinton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swinton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swinton can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Swinton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• Some Swinton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Swinton conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 175000 maisonette in Swinton next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Swinton?

Swinton conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Swinton - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the service charges or necessitate a specific payment. Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the service costs?