I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Becontree Heath. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Becontree Heath conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Becontree Heath. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Becontree Heath.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Becontree Heath. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Becontree Heath who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Becontree Heath conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Becontree Heath can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Becontree Heath levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. 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 common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Becontree Heath.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Becontree Heath state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• Some Becontree Heath leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to 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 historic rather than unresolved.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 225000 apartment in Becontree Heath in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Becontree Heath?

Becontree Heath conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges raised by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Becontree Heath
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Becontree Heath leasehold property is £350. For Becontree Heath conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Becontree Heath. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Becontree Heath property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.36 years.

I purchased a garden flat in Becontree Heath, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Becontree Heath with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098

With just 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.