You are the leaseholder or proposed purchaser of a flat in a block and want to know if the lease can be extended? The following is the criteria to establish whether it is possible to obtain a statutory 90 year extension of the lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993:
Can the lease be extended? The qualifying criteria.
The lease must have been for a term originally exceeding 21 years, not be a business tenancy and if you are the current lessee, you must have owned the flat for more than two years before the date of a Claim to extend. If you are purchasing the flat, it is possible for the vendor to begin the lease extension process by serving Notice of Claim, and assigning the Benefit of the Notice to you.
Can I extend my lease if I have more than one flat in a building?
There is no limit on the number of flats you can own in a particular building and you can extend the leases of any or all of them, provided the qualifying criteria is met.
Can beneficiaries of a deceased tenant extend a lease?
If you are the personal representative of a deceased tenant you are able to make a Claim to extend the lease, provided you do so within two years from the date of grant of probate.
If the lease can be extended, what can be acquired?
If you satisfy the qualifying criteria, or in the event of the flat being purchased, the vendor does, and is willing to serve Notice of Claim and assign the benefit to you, it is possible to obtain a 90 extension of the existing lease, at a peppercorn rent, but otherwise on the same terms as the existing lease, except for limited variations prescribed under the 1993 Act. For more information on how the premium is calculated see What premium will I have to pay?
For more information on the process see Statutory Proocess – Lease Extensions
Our services: We are able to advise you on the premium likely to be payable for the extension of a lease or leases of flats in a block where you are the qualifying tenant, or if purchasing the vendor is, and is willing to serve Notice of Claim, and assign the benefit to you. We are also able to recommend figures for insertion in a section 42 Notice under the 1993 Act, in order to commence the lease extension process. We are Chartered Surveyors, Regulated by RICS, with Registered Valuers that are experts in lease extensions and enfranchisement. We are also able to provide further information to answer Can the lease be extended?
