Lease Extensions

The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, together with various other amending Leasehold Reform Acts, Housing Acts etc., give the owners of leasehold houses and flats rights to get lease extensions or to buy the freehold (or a share in the freehold) of the property. There are also rights for leaseholders of flats to take over the management of the building. Normally the leaseholder must have owned the lease for at least two years, but this does not apply where the occupiers of a block of flats seek to jointly buy the freehold. The original lease should have been granted for a term in excess of 21 years.

There is of course a price to be paid for either the lease extension or the freehold. We can carry out valuations to indicate what an appropriate price would be. We can also deal with serving the correct notices, negotiating with freeholders or presenting a case to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

Generally, once the remaining term of a lease falls below 70 years, it becomes increasingly difficult to get a mortgage on a property and the value starts to decline. Buying the freehold or obtaining a lease extension in these circumstances, invariably increases the value of the property by more than the cost of the freehold or lease extension.

We would be very pleased to discuss the implications of the Leasehold Reform Acts, without obligation, with any leaseholder(s) concerned about the effects on their property of a lease which is getting shorter.