I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Truro. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Truro.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Truro. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society 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 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Truro who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Truro conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Truro both have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Truro where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Truro conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What makes a Truro lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Truro. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Truro - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Many Truro leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up that will be shared by the tenants and will materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific payment.