My partner and I may need to let out our Dagenham 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Dagenham conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Dagenham conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Dagenham. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dagenham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Dagenham. Conveyancing and Virgin Money 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 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Dagenham who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Dagenham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475000 maisonette in Dagenham on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Dagenham?

Dagenham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Dagenham. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dagenham flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.36 years.

What makes a Dagenham lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dagenham