My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Hornchurch 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Hornchurch conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Hornchurch do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I own a leasehold flat in Hornchurch. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Hornchurch who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Hornchurch conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Hornchurch where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hornchurch conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hornchurch leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

Some Hornchurch 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £450000 maisonette in Hornchurch in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hornchurch?

Hornchurch conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hornchurch
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Hornchurch leasehold property is £350. For Hornchurch 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 supply answers.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Hornchurch. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hornchurch residence is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hornchurch