Under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act, most flat-owners are legally entitled to get 90 years added to their lease at a fair market price.  To be eligible for a lease extension you must:

  • Own a long lease (over 21years).
  • You must have owned it for the past two years.
  • You must be a residential tenant and not be a business or commercial tenant.
  • You do not need to have lived in the property for this period but merely owned the lease for two years or more.

Some exceptions to lease extension are when:

  • The flat is leased to you by a charitable housing trust on a charitable basis
  • You are a business or a commercial tenant (i.e. you have to be an individual)
  • The flat is part of a National Trust property
  • The flat is part of a property owned by the Crown
  • The flat is within a cathedral precinct
  • The lease is fewer than five years remaining on the term and there is proof that the property is to be redeveloped.

Furthermore, a freeholder can be approached within the first two years of your ownership to extend a lease but they will usually seek extra remuneration for doing so because it is down to their discretion and not an automatic right. There are various exceptions where a freeholder cannot accommodate a new owner in this way including:

  • Where the majority of the leaseholders (in a block of flats for example) have applied to buy the freehold.
  • The lease has already ended
  • You have sub-let the home on a lease of at least 21 years
  • The lease was already granted for less than 21 years
  • If your freeholder wants to demolish or redevelop the property

 

Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com  if you want to extend your lease or want to explore buying the freehold and to ask us about any reservations or queries that you may have; we are always happy to assist.