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Lease Extensions

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If you own a residential leasehold property, at some point it may make financial sense to extend the term of the lease in order to protect the value of your asset.

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There is a cost involved in extending the lease in terms of a premium which must be negotiated and paid to the landlord (freeholder).  As a general rule, once the unexpired term of a lease falls below 80 years, it becomes progressively more expensive to extend the lease as time passes.  In addition, mortgage lenders often impose minimum term requirements for leasehold properties below which they will not lend (generally, the length of the mortgage plus 35 years).  This means that, should you own a leasehold where the unexpired term is "short", you may only be able to sell to cash buyers. 

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Based upon these factors, many owners consider a lease extension once the unexpired term of their lease falls below 100 years.

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There are two ways in which a lease can be extended. The first is by mutual agreement between a landlord (freeholder) and tenant (leaseholder).  Secondly,  if certain qualifying criteria are met, the tenant has the legal right to extend their lease for an additional 90 years under the terms of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

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If you are considering extending your lease, the first step is to establish the best way forward for you.  We would be delighted to discuss the various options with you based upon your own circumstances.

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FEES

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Our fees for a lease extension depend upon the process (voluntary or statutory) and the likely premium.  Assuming a premium less then £20,000, the minimum fee is £750 +VAT.

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DISBURSEMENTS

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Typical disbursements include:

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• Land Registry Fee (Scale 1)  currently £40

• Land Registry Official Copies – £18

• Bankruptcy Search per person buying the property – £2

• Land Registry Search – £3

• Identification Search per person – £10 +VAT

• Telegraphic transfers - £30 + VAT per transfer

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SERVING A SECTION 42 NOTICE

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If the lease is being extended in accordance with the 1993 Act, it is necessary to follow certain formalities, including serving a Section 42 notice on the freeholder. 

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Our fee for issuing the notice is £600 + VAT

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In addition, we charge £500 +VAT to administer matters between issuance of the section 42 notice and receipt of a section 45 counter notice.  This includes undertaking correspondence with the freeholder or their agent and undertaking payment of any deposit which may be required pursuant to servicing a section 42 notice.

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Additional charges include:

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Serving notice at Land Registry -  £75 +VAT. 

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This safeguards your position in relation to the section 42 notice as a notice is registered at the Land Registry, meaning that any buyer of the freehold will be subject to the section 42 notice.

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Preparing a Deed of Assignment, where necessary, of the section 42 notice - £300 +VAT

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The Deed of Assignment is prepared if you are selling a leasehold property and you have been asked to serve a section 42 notice and transfer the benefit of that notice to your buyer. 

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OTHER COSTS TO CONSIDER

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Please remember that, when extending your lease, you will need to negotiate the premium to be paid for the extension with your freeholder (this will not apply if you are also the freeholder or, potentially, when you have a share of the freehold).  In most cases, it will be necessary to obtain professional advice from a surveyor who specialises in this area who will be able to provide an estimate of the premium which you might be expected to pay and should, in most cases, be prepared to negotiate with the freeholder or their own surveyor to try to arrive at an agreed, negotiated figure.  

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In addition to the costs of your surveyor, you will also likely be required to pay the legal and other costs of the freeholder.

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To explore this further, please call for a discussion of how best you might proceed.

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