Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Southend. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Southend.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Southend. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Southend ?

The majority of houses in Southend are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Southend in which case you should be looking for a Southend conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Southend where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Southend conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Southend in six days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Southend?

Southend conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Southend conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Southend residence is 75 Woolstone Road in February 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the appropriate amount to be paid to purchase the freehold was the sum of £17,711 . This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 68.28 and 158.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Southend what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Southend is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could 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. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Southend - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Many Southend leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically during the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is usually retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Are there any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the service charges?