Please re-lease me
Question
Who should I contact in order to extend my leasehold? I own a flat with a 79-year lease and would like to increase it.
Answer
Most leaseholders of flats have the right to extend the lease for 90 years after they have owned the lease to the property for at least two years. In order to do this, you have to follow certain rules and there are legal costs involved.
If you want to extend your lease; firstly, you need to find out how the building is owned and who originally granted your lease. If the freeholder originally granted your lease, they will be able to extend it. If a higher leaseholder originally granted your lease, they can extend it as long as their lease is at least 90 years longer than yours.
The contact details for the person or company who granted your lease should be included on any bills your receive for ground rent, service charges or other payments. If it isn't, you can make a formal written request from whoever you make these payments to. They should provide you with this information within 28 days.
If you are looking to find the owner of your lease, you should also be able to find their details at the land registry.
The legal process for extending a lease can be complicated. It would be advisable to seek specialist advice from a solicitor, law centre, or an advice centre in your area. If you have problems negotiating with your freeholder, a leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) may be able to help. They can settle most financial disputes, and may also be able to sort out disagreements about the quality of services provided. This includes how much you have to pay to extend your lease and how much you have to pay to buy the freehold of your building.
You are likely to need a surveyor's valuation to get an idea of how much extending your lease might cost. It is almost impossible to work out a fixed price, so most surveyors will give you a high and low price. The final price should be somewhere in between. If you can't agree a price, an LVT can set one.
You will also have to pay all the solicitors' and surveyors' fees involved, for both yourself and the freeholder. This can be quite expensive.
Expert advice on living in leasehold property can be obtained by calling LEASE, the leasehold advisory service, on 0207 374 5380 . They are open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 3:30pm.
The Housing and Local Government website also has information about residential leasehold. It should also be noted that this information is only relevant to England and Wales. For similar information in Scotland or Northern Ireland, contact an advice centre in your area.
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Question answered by Shelter
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