Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Basildon ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Basildon conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Basildon conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Basildon. 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Basildon.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Basildon which have about forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Basildon. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Basildon. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Basildon with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Basildon can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Basildon charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Basildon.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Basildon state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Basildon leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

Basildon Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Basildon ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. How long is the Lease?