Curry Popeck

West End Office:
87 Wimpole Street
London W1G 9RL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7224 6633
Fax: +44 (0)20 7935 4042
DX No: 9082 West End

Harrow Office:
380 Kenton Road
Harrow, Middlesex
HA3 8DP
Tel: +44 (0)20 8907 2000
Fax: +44 (0)20 8927 0499
DX No: 47504 Kenton

How to extend your lease
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There could be good news for leaseholders if a Bill now going through Parliament passes muster. The Bill is set to relax the current eligibility criteria for lease extension and also increase the rights to lease held by companies, remove residence requirements and reduce ownership requirements for extending leases from three years to two.
But what's the situation now, and how can you push your rights in the lease game? At present leaseholders have the opportunity to collectively purchase a freehold at the market value. To qualify a lease holder must own a lease which originally had a term of more than 21 years, be in actual occupation of the flat for the past 12 months (or for periods totalling three years out of the past 10 years), and be paying a low ground rent. If at least two-thirds of the leaseholders in the block meet these criteria, and two–thirds of this group give notice to the landlord, the purchase will go ahead at the market value as a minimum level. The advantages of this enfranchisement process include gaining control of the management of the apartment block and the power that the leaseholders have to grant themselves new leases to overcome any loss of value of the property as the lease approaches expiry.
If you decide to go it alone, then an individual leaseholder who has occupied their apartment for the past three years has a right to a new lease that will extend the existing term by another 90 years at a peppercorn {i.e. nil} rent.
You will have to pay a premium for this new arrangement.
Philip Popeck is a partner at Curry Popeck, solicitors.
Call 020 8907 2000 or email him at philipp@currypopeck.com.
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