Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Turvey. I need to extend my lease 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Turvey.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Turvey. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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).

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

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Turvey conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Turvey conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Turvey in the last year?

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

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Turvey can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Turvey levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Turvey.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Turvey leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of 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 reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What are the common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Turvey properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Turvey. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Turvey, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Turvey with an extended lease are worth £225,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2105

You have 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.