Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Westcliff On Sea 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Westcliff On Sea conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Westcliff On Sea conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Westcliff On Sea. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Westcliff On Sea.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Westcliff On Sea. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Westcliff On Sea should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.

You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Westcliff On Sea please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Westcliff On Sea

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Westcliff On Sea.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Completion in due on our sale of a £300000 flat in Westcliff On Sea in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Westcliff On Sea?

Westcliff On Sea conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves fees being raised by management companies :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Westcliff On Sea
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Westcliff On Sea leasehold property is £350. For Westcliff On Sea 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 obliged to provide answers.

Westcliff On Sea Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Can you tell me if there are any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. For most Westcliff On Sea leaseholds the cost for major works are not wrapped into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Westcliff On Sea obliged tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Westcliff On Sea