Our specialist team of lease extension solicitor can help you get the lowest premium from your freeholder. Call us on 0203 909 8399 or email us enquiries@connaughtlaw.com to get professional advice on a lease extension of a flat or a house.
Increasing numbers of properties are built and sold on a leasehold basis as opposed to freehold or commonhold. This is particularly the case with flats.
With a leasehold property, you are basically purchasing the rights to live in a property for a specified period (lease term). Modern flat leases typically tend to be for 99 to 125 years. Although this may seem like a long period of time, you may consider the advantages of extending the term of the lease sooner rather than later. The value of your flat is likely to be increased significantly by a properly negotiated lease extension. If your lease has 80 years or less remaining, then it is best that you apply to extend it.
The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (as amended) provides the leaseholders with a right and opportunity to extend their lease once they have owned the property for at least two years. Although the right is often referred to as a right to extend the lease, it is really a right to a new lease for a term equal to the unexpired residue of the existing lease plus 90 years. The rent under the new lease will be peppercorn ground rent, which is the same as being rent free.
A premium is payable by the tenant for the grant of the extended new lease.
The right to a lease extension is subject to certain criteria and some of the prerequisites are that the existing lease must be long i.e. granted for a term exceeding 21 years and the tenant must have owned the lease for at least two years and the tenant cannot be a business or commercial tenant.
You cannot extend your lease if:
- The landlord is a charitable housing trust and the flat is provided as part of the charity’s functions
- The building in which your flat is located is within a cathedral precinct, or if it is owned by The National Trust
Do you need help extending your lease?
A leasehold extension application process involves a complex area of law. It can be time-consuming with strict time-frames and deadlines. It is critical to have solicitors who really understand what they’re doing. We have a team of experienced solicitors who specialise in the field and can handle your lease extension from start to finish. Call our property department on 0203 909 8399 or email us at enquiries@connaughtlaw.com We have a specialist lease extension team of solicitors and surveyors and we provide:
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