I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Rainham. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Rainham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Rainham ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Rainham conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Rainham conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Rainham. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

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

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

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

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Rainham please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Rainham

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Rainham where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Rainham conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £125000 maisonette in Rainham in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Rainham?

Rainham conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally results in fees being raised by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Rainham
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Rainham leasehold property is £350. For Rainham 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 required to provide the information.

I am the proprietor of a ground-floor 1960’s flat in Rainham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Rainham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Rainham premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rainham