Lease Extensions

If you are the owner of a leasehold property where the lease has less than 90 years remaining you should think about extending your lease.

It is much better to apply for an extension before there are fewer than 80 years left to run. If there are fewer than 80 years to run, you would be required to pay what is known as a marriage value to the freeholder, prior to the lease being extended. This marriage value can amount to many thousands of pounds, and would be on top of any premium required by the landlord to the extension.

If you have owned your flat for at least two years you can insist that your landlord extends the lease. If a premium, or price, for that extension cannot be agreed then there is a mechanism for a valuer to determine the appropriate consideration. If you live in a block of flats, then you could join with other tenants to acquire the freehold or could insist on the right to manage the block. In these circumstances, a majority of tenants would need to have owned their flats for at least 2 years prior to the application being made.

If you are successful in obtaining a lease extension then it will need to be registered at the Land Registry and we can assist you with that.

We can also assist you with purchasing the freehold from the landlord. In certain circumstances you can require this as of right.

If you are dissatisfied with the management of the building, you may be entitled to take over the management of the building under Right-to-Manage legislation.

For further information please contact:

Steve Smith - Department Head (Partner)
Email: Steve.Smith@Machins.co.uk
DDI: 01582 514378

Eugene Pritchard - Assistant Solicitor
Email: Eugene.Pritchard@Machins.co.uk
DDI: 01582 514369