Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Canvey Island. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Canvey Island.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Canvey Island. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Canvey Island please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Canvey Island

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Canvey Island.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Canvey Island. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Canvey Island who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Canvey Island conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Canvey Island can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Canvey Island levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Canvey Island.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Canvey Island leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Canvey Island conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential 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 premises on the market for sale.

I acquired a studio flat in Canvey Island, conveyancing formalities finalised 2008. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Canvey Island with an extended lease are worth £239,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

With 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.