Is Your Residential Lease Coming to an End?

Do you own a residential flat?

If so, there is a possibility that your lease will need to be extended during your ownership. The longer you own a lease, the less valuable the property becomes. It is for this reason that the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (the Act) gives the tenant a right to extend your lease, so long as you have owned the property for two years.

This post covers how to extend your lease under the Act. If you have not owned the property for two years, you still might be able to negotiate an extension with your landlord direct. Although there are no rules governing the terms of the extension under this informal route. If you are not able to negotiate the extension direct, you would need to follow the statutory route covered in this post. Even if you are eligible to extend your lease, you may want to consider the informal route with your landlord first.

How to extend your lease

Before starting this procedure, you will need to:

• Ensure you are eligible by owning the flat for more than two years;
• Assess the premium; and
• Make sure you have funds available to complete the procedure.

The first step is to contact your landlord with a formal request to extend the lease; this is known as the Tenant’s Notice. The landlord will be entitled to a premium for the lease extension and a surveyor will be able to assist you in calculating premium. As well as the premium, you will also be responsible for the landlord’s legal and surveyors fees.

Once you have served the Tenant’s Notice, the landlord could ask you for evidence that you own your flat and you have done so for more than two years. We would be able to provide the necessary evidence on your behalf. The landlord will then be able to serve their counter-notice to accept your terms, reject your terms or propose alternative terms.

What can Wace Morgan do to help?

We are experts in dealing with lease extensions, whether you are the tenant or the landlord in this process; and we can help ensure that your lease extension goes as smoothly as possible. Please contact Kajal Buxani on 01743 280140 or Kajal.Buxani@wmlaw.co.uk or Natasha Worrall on 01743 266872 or Natasha.Worrall@wmlaw.co.uk to find out how we can assist you.