I need to extend the lease on my flat, how can I do this?
As the owner of a leasehold property, you can extend the lease either by agreement or by serving notice.
A voluntary extension is usually obtained because an agreement with your freeholder already exists. If no voluntary extension agreement exists then a statutory extension can be sought.
Voluntary Lease Extension
If you have an agreement with your Freeholder, then the process is straightforward. We can help you record this or negotiate it as necessary before arranging registration at the Land Registry.
Statutory Lease Extension
The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (as amended) enables tenants to extend their lease by 90 years in addition to the current unexpired term at a nil ground rent (£0), in return for paying the Freeholder a premium.
In order to qualify for this process, the property must have been owned for more than 2 years.
This process involves serving an S.42 Notice upon the Freeholder setting out basic details about the property and the premium you would be willing to pay for the extension.
The Freeholder then has the right to respond with a Counter-Notice setting out what terms they propose or if they don’t believe that you have the right to an extension.
This is typically followed by a period of negotiation and if an agreement cannot be reached the matter can be referred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a ruling.
