Lease Extension Process | Start Lease Extensions

To extend your lease, you must agree and pay a reasonable 'premium' to the Landlord who owns the freehold of the building. There is statutory guidance on how this premium should be calculated and it is possible for you to negotiate the premium and terms of a lease extension directly with your Landlord (a non-statutory lease extension), but there is no obligation on their part to agree the premium and no option to compel them to grant an extension. The most reliable route is therefore to seek a statutory lease extension.

If you extend your lease for 90 years via the statutory process, you stop becoming liable to pay ground rent. This can help to offset the costs you incur in extending the lease and is a further benefit that is guaranteed by using the statutory route. The flowchart below outlines the process of the statutory process. As you will see the statutory process also has certain key fixed time limits which ensure the process cannot be blocked indefinitely.

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1. DO YOU QUALIFY FOR A STATUTORY LEASE EXTENSION?

Was the lease originally granted for a term of more than 21 years?

Have you owned the lease for at least two years?

If you answer yes to both of these questions, you are almost certainly entitled to proceed with a statutory lease extension.

2. VALUATION

Our RICS qualified and highly experienced surveyors will calculate the proposed valuation of the purchase price of your lease extension, to include in the notice we send to your landlord.

3. NOTIFYING YOUR LANDLORD

Our specialist leasehold solicitors will inform your landlord of your intention to purchase a lease extension, including the proposed valuation of the purchase price. This "Notice of claim" will trigger the statutory timetable to which both parties must comply. The landlord is also entitled to request payment of a 10% deposit (based on your proposed valuation) and for his surveyor to have access to inspect the property on receipt of the Notice of Claim.

4. LANDLORD'S COUNTER NOTICE

Your landlord now has just over two months in which to serve a counter-notice accepting your proposed valuation or proposing an alternative valuation of the purchase price for the extension.

5. NEGOTIATIONS (FAILURE TO AGREE TERMS)

Once the landlord's counter-notice has been served both parties have 6 months from the receipt of the notice to negotiate and agree the final price and terms for lease extension. If your landlord does not issue a counter-notice within the specified period, you will generally be able to apply for the price of your extension to be set at the valuation proposed in your original Notice of Claim.

If your final agreement is not reached in the specified period, either party can make an application to the Land Valuation Tribunal, who will determine the price and terms of the extension.

6. COMPLETION

Once the terms are agreed our solicitors will review the terms to ensure they are acceptable for you, complete the agreement with the landlord, handle the payment of monies due to the Landlord and register the new lease with the Land Registry Office. Once again there are statutory time limits to ensure that the landlord cannot delay the time to completion

Our Services & Expertise

Our full-service fixed-fee lease extension service has you covered, from Start to finish.

Lease Extensions

Extend your lease and increase the value of your property.

Leasehold Enfranchisement

Our collective enfranchisement service make the purchase of a ‘Share of Freehold’ simple and stress free.

Lease Extension Calculator

Try our free lease extension calculator.

Assignment of the Right to Extend

Thinking of selling without extending your lease? Then our assignment of the right to extend service is for you.

FAQ

Where do I start? Not sure? We have compiled a list of questions we are most frequently asked.

Financing & Equity Release

Our financing & equity release service make funding your lease extension easy.

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Silvana Goddard

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Hear what our clients have to say

'The team were polite, informative and helpful throughout the process. Would definitely recommend Start Lease Extensions.'
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'A seamless professional service. Providing us with useful information and guidance. Also took the time to listen to our needs which was important to us. We highly recommend.'
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'Start coordinated a difficult lease extension brilliantly and liaised effectively with both the solicitor and the surveyor throughout. I can heartily recommend Start who are specialists in lease extensions.'
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'As a result of using this service I feel I was able to get the best financial outcome with regard to the renewal.'
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'The service provided was second to none. All the steps of the process were carefully and clearly explained. They kept in touch with me all the time letting me know what was happening taking away all the stress. I would highly recommend them.'
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'The solicitor was efficient and helpful. His excellent communication made a tough job seem easy. I have already recommended to a friend in the block'.
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'Your staff were very friendly and helpful and I was very surprised with the speed'.
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'A pleasure to do business with from very first phone call to completion of the task'.
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'I would like to say thank you. The lease extension went through so smoothly'.
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'The solicitor gave me timely responses to all my questions and worries regarding my lease, which was reassuring. He was competent and professional throughout'.
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'Undertaking a lease extension is a very steep learning curve, wish that I had found START at the... START! After months of wasting time and thousands of £, I found Silvana and START. An ideal and unique combination for a lease extension. Start not only coordinate the surveyor and solicitor but, critically, provide a link to the client. With a fixed price Start - was also far less expensive.'
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'Silvana was absolutely amazing, she coordinated with surveyors, solicitors and mortgage brokers in a professional yet friendly manner, definitely went above and beyond her call of duty. I would have no hesitation in recommending START Lease Extensions.'
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Looking to buy a new leasehold property

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