Lease Extensions

If you own a flat with a short-term lease, it may affect your ability to sell your property in the future. Ramsdens Solicitors offers a free, efficient and experienced service for lease extensions, helping you to process and agree an extension or negotiate with the freeholder while following the necessary statutory procedure.

Our highly skilled solicitors will guide you through the process from start to finish, offering simple and easy-to-understand advice every step of the way. Call our specialist team on 01484 821 500 or fill out our online enquiry form and a member of the team will be in touch at a convenient time for you.

When can you request a lease extension?

Tenants who have been in ownership of their leasehold property for two or more years can extend their lease terms at any time, subject to qualification, by virtue of the Leasehold Reform Housing & Urban Development Act 1993. The Act sets out the qualifying criteria and the formula for valuing the price payable to the landlord for extending the lease term.

A lease extension can also be achieved outside of the Act through negotiations with the landlord.

There are a number of factors to consider when seeking a lease extension, such as:

• The price increasing as the number of remaining years of the term decreases.
• Prices for leases with less than 80 years of the term remaining will be significantly more expensive.
• Mortgage lenders will advise that a lease has a certain number of years of the term remaining. The actual number differs from lender to lender, but 80 years is not uncommon.
• Extending the lease term under the Act can be a lengthy process, and is not always achievable in the timeframe of selling a flat.
• Negotiating an extension with the landlord to coincide with the sale can be expensive as the landlord is in a strong bargaining position.