I am intending to let out my leasehold flat in West Thurrock. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in West Thurrock do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in West Thurrock. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering West Thurrock.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in West Thurrock. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in West Thurrock ?

Most houses in West Thurrock 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 clear that you are purchasing in West Thurrock in which case you should be looking for a West Thurrock conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in West Thurrock. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in West Thurrock who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a West Thurrock conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agency in West Thurrock where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local West Thurrock conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Following years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Thurrock. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a West Thurrock conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Thurrock premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in West Thurrock - Examples of Queries before buying

What restrictions are contained in the West Thurrock Lease?