Leasehold Tribunal Advice

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What Are the Powers of the Residential Property Tribunal? Leasehold Tribunal Advice. Specialist solicitors

The full name of the Leasehold Tribunal is the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber (Residential Property) is not exactly a short and snappy title. Until 2013 this body was known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT.

The Tribunal has five regional offices around England to give independent help to settle any disputes involving leasehold and rented property. The Tribunal operates in England only; Scotland and Wales have separate systems for resolving this sort of property dispute.

The Tribunal settles specific types of property disputes which would otherwise end up in the Court system, and has powers to settle cases and give everyone cheaper access to justice. Some cases but not all attract a scales of fees, but there is no charge for the Tribunal hearing about disputes regarding the amount which has to be paid to extend a lease or buy the freehold of a building.

The Tribunal does not get involved in any disputes about non-residential properties and it deals with both freehold and leasehold issues.

Going through a leasehold dispute? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

Who sits on the Leasehold Tribunal panel?

Each of the five regions has a Regional Judge, who is assisted by one or more deputy judges and leasehold valuers. These people are responsible for the members of the Tribunal and decide which members should take charge of a particular case. Members of the Tribunal are appointed to their positions by the Lord Chancellor.

The Chairman of the Tribunal will be a judge or surveyor. This person looks after the conduct of cases and writes the report giving the Tribunal’s decision.
Other members of the Tribunal could be other professionals, lay people or surveyors.

On occasion the Chairman may sit alone, but it is more common for the Tribunal to be made up of the Chairman and one or two other members.

Powers of the Leasehold Tribunal

The Property Tribunal decides on many different types of leasehold disputes and can make rulings on a wide variety of residential property issues including the following:

•    The price which has to be paid when one leaseholder wants to buy the freehold of their property (enfranchising), or wants to extend the lease on their property and cannot come to an agreement over the price with their landlord.

•    The price which should be paid to the landlord when one leaseholder wants to go through the process of leasehold extension for their flat and cannot negotiate a price with the landlord.

•    How much should be paid to the landlord in costs for dealing with any enfranchisement application or leasehold extension.

•    The price which should be paid to the landlord when a group of leaseholders gets together in a collective enfranchisement to buy the freehold of a block of flats and can’t agree on a price with their landlord.

•    If the landholder or freeholder is absent and cannot be found, the Tribunal can make a ruling on the price to be paid for the transfer of the freehold.
Click here to read more about absent freeholders and your lease extension – and vesting orders in the County Court

•    Tribunals can also make rulings on who is liable to pay administration and service charges, when the payments should be made, and to whom.

•    Varying long leases on flats

•    Whether RTM companies (Right to Manage) have the legal right to be granted the right to manage on the date stated

•    Whether the landlord can modify or dispense with the landlord’s need to consult with their leaseholders before undertaking major work and then asking leaseholders to pay for it through the service charge.

•    When a landlord cannot be located, whether a RTM company can be granted the right to manage

•    The level of costs which can be claimed by a landlord (or anyone else party to the lease except the tenants and the landlord) or managers who are appointed in connection with a Right to Manage

•    The level of service charges to be paid to a RTM company by a third party, manager or landlord

•    Whether there has been a breach in the conditions or in a covenant concerning the lease on a residential property.

Looking for Leasehold Tribunal Advice You Can Rely On? Contact Us Today

Our specialist lease disputes and lease extensions and enfranchisement team can advise you wherever you live in England or Wales – and we don’t even need to see you – taking your instructions by e-mail, phone and Zoom video:

  • Just call FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote, OR
  • Complete the email contact form below

    Do I need a licence to alter my leasehold property?

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    There are many reasons why owners of leasehold flats may wish to make alterations to their residential property. Sometimes they want to change the premises before moving in.
    The exact process for making the alterations will depend on what is stated in the lease, but in most cases the leaseholder will have to apply for permission to make changes from the freeholder, and obtain a licence to alter.

    When do I need a licence to alter?

    Not all alterations or changes need a licence. Minor alterations such as putting in new flooring, painting internal walls or putting up new shelves typically do not need permission from your freeholder. However, more substantial work such as alterations affecting the structure of the building, internal doors or anything which falls under the remit of Building Control will need freeholder permission.

    Avoid breaching the terms your lease – get the right legal advice

    Making changes to residential leasehold property can often cause disputes, and it is always best to consult your freeholder and have the lease checked over by a solicitor before you start making any changes to the fabric of the building. Not getting permission to make changes puts you in breach of your lease, and could mean substantial financial penalties for the leaseholder.

    However a word of warning. Getting permission to make alterations often takes quite a while, especially if you are trying to get this at the same time as agreeing the terms of the lease itself. This can lead to a dilemma for the leaseholder – should you go ahead and get builders and other contractors on board to start work which he may not be allowed to do? It is therefore essential to get the ball rolling with your freeholder as soon as possible to work out whether a licence to alter is needed, how long getting one is likely to take, and work out the mechanics of the application process.

    Making the Application

    When making an application for a licence to alter, you will normally need to include the following, depending on the work being proposed:

    ·       Drawings showing the current and proposed layout

    ·       Full description of proposed alterations

    ·       Breakdown of how long the job will take

    ·       Evidence that the correct Planning Permission or other permissions have been obtained

    ·       Insurance certificates

    ·       Evidence that the work complies with the Party Wall Act

    The Legal Position – Making Changes to Rented Premises

    Under the Landlord and Tenant Act, your freeholder is not allowed to refuse permission to make alterations unreasonably. If the work is needed to bring the property in line with statutory requirements, in many situations he cannot refuse permission.

    Licence to Alter – What It Might Contain

    The Licence to Alter which is drawn up lays out the changes which have been agreed and any conditions under which the work has to be done. It should contain:

    ·         A description of what work has been agreed

    ·         Any conditions on doing the work (for example in terms of noise, working hours or disposal of waste)

    ·         Requirements for insurance

    ·         The agreed drawings and specifications

    ·         Any statutory obligations which have to be adhered to

    ·         How the costs are to be split. The leaseholder may have to cover any costs incurred by the landlord when preparing the licence as well as extra costs for insurance or even some work the landlord has done to items such as the security system.

    It can be difficult to schedule work which is dependent on the granting of a licence to alter, and this is even more difficult when the work coincides with the leaseholder moving in for the first time. In these cases you have to coordinate the work with agreeing terms for the lease, organising relocation and removals companies, buying new office equipment or fixtures and fittings, and terminating the lease for their previous property.

    Failing to get all of these variables to come into line can result in the leaseholder incurring substantial extra costs such as having to pay for temporary accommodation.

    Right of inspection

    The freeholder also has the right to see the renovation work at the start of the project, while it is ongoing, and when it is complete.

    Need A Licence for alterations – need expert advice? Contact our experts

    Make sure that you have a specialist leasehold lawyer on your side. Our team have vast experience helping both freeholders and leaseholders with regards to work/alterations licences, so:

    • Call us today on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544, or
    • Send us an email via the contact form below

      Lease Extension in Basildon

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      Basildon was effectively created in 1948 as a new town in order to accommodate the overspill population from London after the Second World War. It originally consisted of four villages: Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange. Today, though, the town is home to more than 100,000 people and is far more of an urban centre than its original village heritage suggests.

      In fact, Basildon is one of the most densely populated areas in the country, partly due to the large number of flats in the town. Although some of these flats are rented by the tenants, a great number are at is known as “long leasehold” properties, essentially owned by the leaseholder with a term that was originally granted for at least 21 years.

      Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

      PROBLEMS WITH SHORT LEASES

      When you come to sell your flat, if you’ve got less than 60 years left on your lease, you may be surprised to find how difficult it is to sell – in particular with such a short lease term, your flat will probably be un-mortgageable. When it comes to remortgaging or selling, you really will have major problems.

      Given that a significant number of the leasehold flats and apartments in Basildon were built in the 70s and 80s, usually with a term of 99 years, that means that many of those flats have a relatively short lease and are going to get increasingly hard to sell. For example, say your flat was built in 1975 – at the time this page was written that’s 47 years ago, which means there are only 52 years left on the lease. And with a lease that short, it’s highly unlikely anyone will get a mortgage

      THE ANSWER TO YOUR SHORT LEASE PROBLEM

      Most flat owners don’t realise they have the legal right to force their freeholder to grant them an additional 90 years on top of the current lease.. There is no requirement that you need to have ever lived in the flat – simply that you have owned it for at least two years.

      Exercising your legal right to get additional 90 years on top of the current lease is achieved by going through a formal legal procedure – although as an alternative, it is possible to negotiate directly with the freeholder, and come to a claimant to extend the lease informally, potentially for a much shorter period than 90 years.

      However the timing, negotiations and legal arrangements for lease extension can prove very tricky – particularly if you’re working with an awkward freeholder who wants to try and drag the process out, especially when your lease is approaching the critical 80 year point – after which the price of lease extension rises significantly.

      Regardless of whether you’re thinking of making a formal statutory application or coming to an informal arrangement with your freeholder, you’re going to need a solicitor – and it’s really important that you pick one who specialises in leasehold extension work.

      CAN I USE MY LOCAL SOLICITOR?

      There is absolutely nothing stopping you using your local solicitor – but before you do, it’s really worth asking them one simple question –

      “How many lease extensions have you completed in the last year?”

      Why, because the vast majority of solicitors only come across lease extensions once in a blue moon – if at all. So they probably have very real experience of this tricky area of law.

      EXTENDING YOUR LEASE – WHY NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME

      Although in principle, you can extend your lease at any time, for most people, we strongly encourage them to do so sooner rather than later. But why?

      • Your lease extension is getting steadily more expensive

      You are currently being hit in two directions – not only will the premium you have to pay to extend your lease steadily increase as the remaining term of your lease drops, but with rising house prices, that will also increase the cost of your lease extension. In fact, one major freehold company recently estimated that the cost of lease extensions in London was going up by a staggering 12% a year. If this continues, you, you will have to pay double for lease extension in under seven years – that’s not a great incentive for you to extend your lease now, we don’t know what is

      • Lease extension solves your short lease problem and will make selling your flat much easier

      Buyers simply prefer long leases – so if you’re thinking of selling, and your lease is comparatively short (probably with a remaining term of anything below 70 or 75 years), there without a lease extension, you will attract far fewer potential purchasers , and will almost certainly achieve a much lower price

      • Mortgage lenders increasingly avoid short leases

      There’s been a real trend in the last few years, for mortgage lenders to significantly tighten their criteria or it comes to lease or property. In particular. Many now don’t lend on any remotely short lease – so whereas it was relatively easy to get a mortgage on a flat with say 50 or 60 years left 10 years ago, any potential buyer may now struggle to get a mortgage offer to buy a flat with say 70 [or even 80 years!] left on the term

      • A lease extension takes time

      if you’re thinking of selling your flat at sometime in the future, our strong advice is to get your lease extension sorted out now. Why – if you have to go down the statutory route, which we normally recommend. If you’re looking to sell a flat in the near future, then that can take up to 6 months – and you won’t want that kind of delay when you found your new dream home

      YOUR BASILDON LEASE EXTENSION – HOW OUR TEAM CAN HELP

      • With experience of many thousands of lease extension extensions for leaseholders and freeholders alike, our team have all the specialist experience you need. We have one of the top teams in the country, and lease extension work is all they do.

      • Our team provide FREE initial telephone advice – just phone FREEPHONE 0800 1404544

      • We have developed a network of specialist lease extension surveyors nationwide with we regularly work – and can introduce you to a specialist surveyor local to you who will be able to accurately value your lease extension – like solicitors, leasehold extension surveyors need to be specialists.

      • We prepare all the necessary legal documents and notices and managed the tricky timetable involved

      CONSIDERING A LEASE EXTENSION IN BASILDON? CONTACT OUR EXPERTS TODAY

      Our specialist team have helped many thousands clients with their lease extensions over the last 25 years. And when it comes to extending your lease, it doesn’t matter where you live in England and Wales – we can help. In fact we deal almost all of our extension clients solely through telephone, email or Zoom video.

      And what’s more – initial phone advice from specialist team is FREE – so why not give us a call now?

      • Simply, phone us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or,

      • Fill out the email contact form below

        Lease extension in Milton Keynes

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        When the new town of Milton Keynes was first designed and built, affordable well-placed housing was at the top of the list of priorities. Today, Milton Keynes is home to more than 250,000 people and covers around 35 square miles. The population has grown enormously over the past few years, with the town’s vibrant culture and busy shopping precincts being very attractive for young families looking to start their lives together.

        The town is one of the only ones in the country to have a dedicated separate cycleway network, with its entire transport infrastructure designed around easy travel — indeed, its grid system and roundabouts are famous across the whole country, the town having been designed to make it easily navigable for cars, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

        With the population boom in Milton Keynes, the need for housing has meant thousands of new homes have been built around the town, with many of them flats or leasehold apartments.

        Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

        YOUR RIGHT TO EXTEND YOUR LEASE

        If you live in Milton Keynes and you own a leasehold flat, did you know that you have the legal right to extend your lease? Well, you do – either by forcing your freeholder to grant you an additional 90 years on to the end of your current lease, or by agreeing a voluntary or informal lease extension with your freeholder.

        Put simply, subject to a few simple conditions (click here to see if you and your flat fit the criteria for lease extension) anyone can extend their lease at any time – but beware, because the process is not always easy.

        HOW A LEASE EXTENSION SPECIALIST CAN HELP

        It’s not a legal requirement that you get a solicitor to represent you – but most sensible people do. It’s a bit like buying a house – yes, you could do the legal work yourself, but sensibly, very few people try, preferring to appoint a specialist. For a start, when you come to extend your lease, it’s almost inevitable that your freeholder will hire a solicitor of their own.

        But if you do decide to appoint a solicitor, it’s really important that you get someone who specialises in lease extension. Very few solicitors do – most conveyancing solicitors only come across lease extension once in a blue moon, and with respect, a lot of them make a complete mess of it, as they don’t understand the regulations and, in particular, the very tight timetable that a formal lease extension involves.

        By getting your own specialist solicitor, you can rest assured that you have a expert to guide you through the process of extending a lease with the minimum of fuss.

        EXTENDING YOUR LEASE – DON’T DELAY

        It’s true that you can extend your lease at any stage, but our strong advice is to get your lease extension through as soon as possible. Why?

        The price is going up.

        Currently the ongoing increase in property prices means a hike in the premium you will have to play for extending your lease. When you add that to the fact that every day your lease is getting shorter, which in turn means you have to pay more for your lease extension, the reality is that delaying your is extension application is simply going to make it more expensive. In fact, recently one major London-based freehold company estimated that the cost of residential lease extension was going up by 12% every year – so, putting your application off by another seven years could mean you have to pay your freeholder 100% more!!!

        Lease extensions take time

        Unfortunately, many people only think about extending a lease when it comes to sell the property – that can create problems with timescales. A formal lease extension takes on average, six months, due to the strict timetable involved. The alternative, an informal lease extension with your freeholder still takes time – and you risk dealing with an script landlord who could pull the plug on your agreement at any time – or try to use your need for a quick lease extension to increase the price. So a sensible leaseholder will want to extend their lease well in advance of a potential sale

        Don’t let your lease drop below 80 years

        Why? That’s simple. The very day that the remaining term of your lease drops below 80 years, your freeholder is entitled to charge an additional premium – which will cost you thousands of pounds more. So our advice is that whilst you should always look to extend your lease sooner rather than later, that’s particularly important when the remaining term of your lease is somewhere between 80 and 85 years.

        A short lease means mortgage problems

        Post recession, most lenders have significantly tightened their criteria on lending on leasehold property. As a result, many lenders simply won’t allow a buyer to borrow on any lease with a term below 70, or even 80 years in some cases. So, if you end up with a short lease, you could find that most purchasers are simply won’t be able to get a mortgage which means a delay in selling and probably a much lower sale price. The answer – early lease extension.

        YOUR MILTON KEYNES LEASE EXTENSION – HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

        • With experience developed over 20 years and many thousands of successful lease extensions, our team have got the specialism you need – click here to see what our clients and the surveyors we use think of us

        • We offer FREE initial phone advice – just call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544

        • We will arrange to appoint a specialist surveyor to accurately value your lease extension – getting the right surveyor is as important as getting the right specialist solicitor

        • Our team deal with the application itself, all of the accompanying notices and documentation and make sure your application sticks to what can be a strict timetable

        THINKING ABOUT A LEASE EXTENSION IN MILTON KEYNES? CALL US NOW

        Over the last 20 years or so, are experts have helped many thousands of leaseholders with extending a lease.

        We can help you with your lease extension wherever you live in England and Wales – we regularly take instructions from clients solely by phone, email or Skype video only.

        So what’s stopping you getting in touch now? After all, initial phone advice from our experts is FREE.

        • Simply, phone us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or,

        • Fill out the email contact form below
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        Lease Extension and the Absentee Landlord

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        When it comes to lease extension, it’s important to point out, before getting into the nitty Absentee Landlord. Lease extension solicitorsgritty of how to track down a landlord [or more properly your freeholder], that you can still take steps to extend your lease even if you cannot find him or her. We’re not going to cover the process for doing this in this article, but if you find yourself in that situation, click here for more information about absentee landlords, or give us a call and one of our specialist lease extension solicitors will be able to explain the legal process in more details.

        Who is your landlord?

        But back to the basics – how can your leasehold extension solicitor find out who your landlord is and then track them down? The first thing to work out is who exactly the “competent landlord” actually is. Competent landlord is a legal term for the person who has the power to grant a leasehold extension. It is usually the owner of the property’s freehold, but could also be the head lessee if the building is sublet. Once the relevant person has been found, your lease extension solicitor starts the process off by serving them with an initial Section 42 notice under the Leasehold Reform, Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 (as amended).

        Your landlord – their obligation to provide contact details

        Another important piece of legislation, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, gives leaseholders a right to know the name and address of their landlord. It also states that the landlord has a legal obligation to respond to requests for their contact details within 21 days. Finding out who the competent landlord is in the first place is often the tricky part, and lease extension solicitors usually start with a search of the databases held by the Land Registry, who charge a small fee for this. Many solicitors will also look online, as there is a growing number of websites offering instant access to specialised directories.

        Leaseholders also have the legal right to serve their landlord with something known as a Section 41 notice. This is a legal letter asking the freeholder to give full details of their legal interest in the property concerned, and requires them to give any other documents which might be relevant in a lease extension application such as any survey reports or information about service charges.

        Freeholders have to give this information within 28 days of receiving a Section 41 notice. The law is also clear that sending or receiving a Section 41 notice from a leaseholder is not the first step in the lease extension process, and the leaseholder is committing themselves to nothing. Also, as it does not form part of the process, freeholders are not allowed to add any costs associated with a Section 41 notice to the “reasonable costs” for extending a lease if the leaseholder decides to go ahead at some point further down the line.

        Can’t find your landlord? Our team can help

        There are many tried and tested ways of finding a landlord, and the leaseholder has significant legal powers to force them to supply both basic contact details and any information which might be relevant to a future leasehold extension application. Just remember though that if you try all available methods and still cannot track down the landlord, that doesn’t mean the end to your lease extension application. Just talk to one of our specialist lease extension team for details about what you can do next.

        Looking at a Lease Extension? Problems with an Absentee Landlord? Contact our specialists

        If you’re looking for, solicitors who really know about lease extensions – wherever you live in England and Wales, contact our specialist team.

        • For FREE initial phone advice, call our team today on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544, or
        • Send us an email using the contact form below.

          Southampton Lease Extension

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          The city of Southampton is home to more than a quarter of a million people, with the south coast city being nicknamed ‘The Gateway to the World’. It is a popular place for young families, with many amenities and attractions which make it ideal for bringing up children and getting onto the property ladder. Its popularity also means that property in Southampton can be expensive with many people choosing to get on the housing ladder by buying a leasehold flat.

          A leasehold flat can be a fantastic way to get your foot on the property ladder and own your own property without having to buy a house — an ideal situation for many young families who only need the space of a flat but do not want to get trapped in the private rental sector. Leases do need special care and attention, though, and one of the things that you need to be aware of is the possibility of extending your lease -not least because trying to sell a flat with a short lease is getting increasingly difficult.

          Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

          HOW OUR SPECIALISTS CAN HELP EXTEND YOUR LEASE

          Firstly it’s important to realise that extending a lease involves a complex area of law with strict timetables and traps for the unwary – and in addition, the average property or conveyancing solicitor only comes across lease extension rarely.

          In fact, Southampton, like most British towns and cities, has no specialist lease extension solicitors. That’s where we come in – here at Salisbury-based law firm Bonallack and Bishop, we have a team of lease extension experts – lease extension is all they do, extending leases of hundreds of clients throughout England and Wales every year.

          • Our experts offer FREE initial phone advice

          • We can introduce you to a specialist lease extension surveyor – who you are also going to need as part of your professional team to value and then assist in negotiating a reasonable premium for extending a lease with the freeholder of your block

          • Our solicitors will handle all of your paperwork, regardless of whether you are able to negotiate an informal or lvoluntary lease extension of your freeholder, or whether or not a formal notice to start the whole procedure proves to be necessary

          YOUR SOUTHAMPTON LEASE EXTENSION – CALL OUR TEAM NOW

          If you live in Southampton and you are considering a lease extension, or you simply want to know more about why extending a lease is so essential, simply phone our team and one of our specialists will go through your options with you – completely FREE of charge with no obligation.

          • So call us now on [01722] 422300 or,

          • Fill out the email contact form below

            How much does it cost to extend a lease?

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            How much does it cost to extend a lease is one of the most common questions we face.

            We would love to give a clear and straightforward answer – but unfortunately it’s quite complicated. However, when extending your lease, you will need to pay the following factors.

            A premium to your freeholder to extend the lease

            If you agree a voluntary lease extension without the need to issue a formal notice, then it’s really up to you and your freeholder how much you pay.

            However, if you opt to choose the formal statutory route to lease extension, whereby you need to issue a formal notice etc, there are a number of factors which any valuer needs to take into account when calculating the right price.

            NB in our experience, it’s well worth appointing a specialist surveyor – because, to be frank, most surveyors rarely if ever come across lease extensions and do struggle with them. Instruct us and we are happy to organise a surveyor for you who knows what they’re doing when it comes to calculating the right premium you should be paying for your lease extension, and who is local to your property]

            When coming up with the right valuation, it’s worth noting that every lease varies as there are a number of factors involved, including the location of the property, property price and the length of the lease term remaining. In particular, the premium or compensation which you will have to pay to your freeholder in order to extend your lease is made up of a number of factors including:

            1. The reduction in the value of the freeholder’s interest – which, in broad terms is how much your landlord’s interest in your property is now, compared with the that value after the lease extension

            2. The Marriage value. This only applies when the lease term is under 80 years – but it can make quite a difference to the price – usually £000s. That’s why it is critically important to get your lease extension before the remaining term of your lease drops even one day below that critical 80 year period

            3. the amount of ground rent payable under the lease

            In the most general terms, however your property is super expensive [e.g. a flat in London’s Grosvenor Square], or your lease is down to his last few years, the premium is usually somewhere between £3K and £50K.

            Professional costs in extending a lease

            Leasehold extension is tricky and there are many traps for the unwary, not least in the timetable. We strongly recommend that you appoint both a specialist solicitor who can guide you through the procedure, and a specialist surveyor who can accurately value the right price for your lease extension.
            Click here to read more about reasons for appointing a specialist lease extension solicitor.

            So, in looking at how much it costs to extend your lease, you should add in the following professional costs;

            1. Your solicitor’s fees – for your information, we charge on an hourly rate, but to give you a rough idea, the average fees we charge for a routine lease extension will be in the region of £700 plus VAT for a voluntary or informal extension and around £1200 plus VAT if you choose to go down the statutory route.

            2. Your surveyors fees

            3. The reasonable legal costs of your landlord – to go down the statutory route, although the landlord has to grant your 90 lease extension, you also have to pay his legal costs – but they must be reasonable. In allowing for landlords legal costs, it’s worth noting that our team provide specialist city quality work at very competitive local prices – so don’t be surprised if your landlord’s costs are a little higher than the figures we quote above

            Statutory lease extension is designed to profit and incentivise the leaseholder

            It’s important to remember, when looking at the cost of extending a short lease that the system was originally introduced to support home ownership. As a result , and provided you get the right valuation first place, even after paying the premium to your freeholder and paying all relevant professional costs, the rise in value of your flat almost inevitably significantly exceeds those costs, leaving you in profit.

            In short, lease extension is one of the few areas where paying a solicitor is highly likely to actually makes you money!

            Looking to sell your flat, but haven’t got enough money to pay for a 90 year lease extension?

            Don’t worry – you have two alternatives;

            1. firstly, your solicitor can issue a notice to your freeholder to start the statutory procedure to increase your lease by 90 years – and your solicitor can assign, as part of the contract of sale of your property, the benefit of that application to the purchaser. This is particularly important because it means that the purchaser won’t have to wait until two years of ownership is up before applying for their lease extension – they can simply continue with the application for a 90 year lease extension started by you and your solicitor. If you got a short lease, this can make a real difference to your chances of getting a decent price for your flat on sale

            2. You can negotiate a short lease extension with your landlord. However, there are risks in going down this route – not least the fact that your landlord is not obliged to go ahead with the lease extension and can drop out at any stage. It may also find, that as part of the terms of a voluntary lease extension, the landlord may seek to impose other owners terms under a new lease, e.g. a significant increase in the ground rent, which could put off future purchasers, and make your property more difficult to sell

            Looking for specialist help to extend your lease?

            Our team is highly specialist – lease extension is all they do. Get in touch with us today.

            • Just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension, OR
            • Complete the email contact form below

              Freeholder and leaseholder obligations

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              Leaseholder obligations

              1. Use language that people can understand!

              There has historically been a tendency for some property lawyers to use language which is almost incomprehensible – a habit which annoys us enormously! Not only can the sentences be too long with inadequate punctuation but the vocabulary can be obtuse and recognisable words can be used in unrecognisable ways. Lawyers have developed an unshakeable reputation for using words such as ‘heretofore’ or ‘aforesaid’ and inserting Latin phrases which only serve to drive others to distraction.

              The good news is most modern leases are not written in such a way and due to the Unfair Terms and Regulations, leases written after 1995 which are written in such an unintelligible way will not be enforceable.

              2. Terms which unfairly burden consumers

              The Office of Fair Trading forbids some terms which are deemed to unfairly encumber the consumer (or leaseholder) or unfairly benefit the supplier (or freeholder). Sometimes, efforts are made to sneak such unfair terms into long leases in particular.

              An example often seen is a clause inserted at the end of the lease which requires the leaseholder to state that they have ‘read and understood’ everything. Given how long and complicated the lease can be, it is unreasonable to expect that this would be the case. Ultimately, inserting such a clause marks an attempt to trap the leaseholder so that should an argument arise, the freeholder and his solicitor can simply point to the fact the leaseholder claimed to have read and understood all terms in the lease. Another common tactic is to use a clause giving the freeholder the last word on whether the leaseholder or freeholder has carried out the necessary duties specified in the lease. Some leases will also include disproportionate penalties for breaches of lease terms.

              Thankfully, the OFT has largely succeeded in stamping out such underhand tactics. However, given the danger of such unfair clauses, it is crucial leaseholders instruct specialist solicitors to protect their interests. A solicitor will also be able to advise you on whether the Landlord and Tenant Act which protects leaseholders in various ways.

              Freeholder obligations

              1. Respect quiet enjoyment and exclusive possession

              It is crucial that the freeholder respects the leaseholders’ rights of ‘exclusive possession’ (the right to exclude others, the freeholder in particular, from the property) and ‘quiet enjoyment’ (the right to avoid interference from the freeholder provided that the property is being used legally) of the property.

              The ‘right to enjoyment’ can be complex because the right only applies to breaches by the freeholder and their agent. Therefore, if the freeholder carried out noisy work in the building which disturbed you as the leaseholder, they are in breach of your right to quiet enjoyment. However, if another leaseholder plays loud music all night they cannot be breaching this right because they are not bound by it. Instead, you would need to take nuisance action against them.

              2. Section 48 Notice

              Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 offers important protection to leaseholders as well. It exists to prevent freeholders simply ‘disappearing’ by failing to provide contact details for example in an attempt to shirk their obligations. Freeholders are legally obliged to provide leaseholders with a name and address in England or Wales through which they can be contacted. This address needn’t be a home or registered office (in the case of a property company); it could be a solicitor’s office or a property management company’s office. This can be particularly helpful for leaseholders whose freeholder has moved overseas.

              This notice can simply be included in another document and the freeholder will not be able to claim that they never saw the notice if it is sent to the address listed: pleading ignorance is not a valid excuse. If the notice is not served, the leaseholder can withhold payment of rent arrears or service charges until the notice is provided.

              3. Good Management

              Freeholders are legally required to check that responsibilities as a manager are fulfilled in the proper manner. If a leaseholder believes that the freeholder is not fulfilling their management duties they can take their freeholder to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) which will make a judgement and can punish or demand action from the freeholder. This process can be drawn out and expensive but is better than leaseholders taking matters into their own hands by refusing to pay service charges for example, which could place them in breach of their lease.

              Dial 01722 422300 for expert advice on leaseholder rights and obligations

              It is crucial that both leaseholders and freeholders are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities. For more information on this complicated area of property law, call our leasehiold extension specialists on 01722 422300, or

              Send us an email via the contact form below.

                Extending the lease on a house – FAQ

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                If you own a leasehold house you are likely to be able to extend your lease – however there Extending the lease on a houseare various advantages to buying the freehold as you will see from the answers to the following frequently asked questions.

                Am I eligible for lease extension on my house?

                The chances are that you will be eligible for lease extension – however there is a chance that you won’t be. All leaseholders must have owned the house for at least 2 years and those who have owned the house for less than 2 years will not be eligible. Your eligibility may also be affected if you already have a business lease, if the original lease was for less than 21 years, or if you have sublet a property with a lease under 21 years. You should also know that you can only extend your lease once and this must be done before the lease ends. Therefore, if you have extended your lease before, or your lease has run down you may not be able to get an extension.

                Different rules apply to house lease extension and flat/apartment lease extensions. Flat leases can be extended for up to 90 years whereas house leases require 2-year ownership and can only be extended to 50 years.

                Are prospective buyers put off by short leases?

                A house with a lease below 70 years is likely to be difficult to sell. Potentials buyers will usually struggle to get a mortgage if the lease is short and they are often reluctant to wait 2 years before they can extend the lease. It is therefore in your interests to extend the lease – it will add value to your property. Make sure you apply to extend your lease before it runs out though because otherwise you will lose the right to your lease extension entirely.

                I don’t know who my freeholder is? How do I find out?

                If you are unaware who your freeholder is you should ask the Land Registry to find out for you.

                How do I go about extending the lease on my house?

                You have two options for your lease extension.

                • Either you attempt to do this informally by making contact with your freeholder and negotiating a price, or
                • You make a formal statutory request for lease extension which involves a strict procedure. You will need to pay the legal fees of both you and the freeholder as well as valuation fees involved.

                Is it best to buy the freehold of my house instead?

                Very often buying the freehold of your house is a good idea because it rules out the need for house owners to pay service charges or ground rent.

                Buying the freehold is also likely to increase the value of your home and allows you to make repairs without consent. Buying the freehold can be expensive though, and not all leaseholders will be able to do it.

                What will extending the lease on my house cost?

                The cost of lease extensions vary depending on the property and the length of the lease. When it comes to house leases, you do not need to pay a fee to the freeholder like you do with flat lease extensions. You will have to cover the freeholder’s legal fees as well as your own. This can add up but it is still usually cheaper than purchasing the freehold.

                Will my ground rent arrangements change?

                Ground rent will usually go up following a lease extension and will come into effect once the current lease expires. The new amount will be based on the property value at the time of the extension and can go up again after 25 years. If an agreement over the rent payments cannot be reached a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) may be needed to fix an amount.

                My lease has ended – what now?

                Once your lease runs down, you technically cease to be the house owner and instead become an assured tenant paying rent to the freeholder who in effectively becomes your landlord. In this situation you will still have rights as an assured tenant but these will not be as extensive as the rights of a leaseholder.

                You may find that you are capable of negotiating informally with the freeholder to extend your lease however they will be under no obligation to grant the extension or even negotiate. You therefore need to get legal advice as soon as possible because if your lease runs down you may lose your financial stake.

                Extending the lease on my house – Do I need a specialist solicitor?

                That’s a really easy question – the answer is yes. You need to appreciate that very few conveyancing or property solicitors come across lease extension more than once in a blue moon – and sadly, in our experience, many solicitors with little experience of lease extension work, struggle to do a good job for their clients when it comes to extending a lease. When you add in the fact that leasehold houses are relatively unusual these days [though I was surprised to find when researching for this blog, that there are estimated to still be around 200,000 houses in England and Wales which are owned under a long leasehold, though many of these are very expensive properties based in central London] – and far less common than leasehold flats, you understand why when looking to arrange a lease extension on your house, whether it’s your home or the property is rented out, you really do need a solicitor who knows what they’re doing.

                Our lease extension team do nothing but lease extension and enfranchisement work – so you can rely on them to provide you with the advice you need.

                Thinking of extending the lease on a house? We can help

                Our lease enfranchisement and lease extension solicitors can help house owners with lease extensions of leasehold enfranchisement. So, if you are a house owner looking for expert legal advice:

                • Call us now us free on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544, or
                • Complete the contact form below.

                  Lease extension team complete

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                  Martyn Davies highly experienced commercial property and lease extension solicitorFollowing my blog entry a few weeks ago about the appointment of a new lease extension solicitor, I’m really pleased to confirm that we’ve now completed the recruitment of our team. Martyn Davies, a highly experienced commercial property and lease extension solicitor has now formally joined us having been with this as a consultant solicitor for the last five months – we were so impressed by him, that we asked him to stay permanently and thankfully he agreed.

                  Martyn will conduct a mixed caseload of commercial property, lease enfranchisement and lease extension work – working alongside our other new leasehold extension specialist, Sam Davies, and our dedicated leasehold extensions paralegal. Sam, however, will be responsible for all of the firm’s right to manage company work.

                  Such is the rapid growth of our lease extension advice work, that ready to work we do on behalf of tenants is equal to our residential conveyancing work. Our plan is to increase the number of tenants we help with extending a lease over the next three years by up to 300%. Now that we have finally managed to recruit the right solicitors, we have got the full specialist team in place, and as a result I’m confident that will be able to hit our lease extensions target.

                  For Lease Extension advice to trust – contact us today

                  Our expert Lease Extension team can advise you wherever you live in England or Wales, and we don’t even need to see you – taking your instructions by e-mail, phone and Skype video:

                  • Just call us on [01722] 422300 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension
                  • Complete the contact form below