I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Shoeburyness. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Shoeburyness do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Shoeburyness. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shoeburyness.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shoeburyness from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shoeburyness can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Shoeburyness levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shoeburyness.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Shoeburyness state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

Some Shoeburyness leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £225000 garden flat in Shoeburyness next Friday . The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shoeburyness?

Shoeburyness conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Shoeburyness
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shoeburyness leasehold premises is £350. For Shoeburyness 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.

What are the common problems that you encounter in leases for Shoeburyness properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Shoeburyness. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a split level flat in Shoeburyness, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Shoeburyness with a long lease are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086

With 61 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Shoeburyness