My wife and I may need to sub-let our South Woodham Ferrers 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in South Woodham Ferrers. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering South Woodham Ferrers.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in South Woodham Ferrers are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in South Woodham Ferrers so you should seriously consider shopping around for a South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in South Woodham Ferrers who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in South Woodham Ferrers where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

I bought a ground floor flat in South Woodham Ferrers, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in South Woodham Ferrers with a long lease are worth £219,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2106

You have 80 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.