Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. This lease will normally be granted for a fixed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Holland Park. Clearly, the length of lease remaining shortens over time. This is often overlooked and only raises itself as an issue when the property needs to be sold or refinanced. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Eligible long lease owners in Holland Park have the right to extend the lease for a further ninety years in accordance with the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. Do give due attention before putting off your Holland Park lease extension. Putting off that expense now simply increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold premises in Holland Park with over 100 years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Santander | You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or 2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or 3. no valuation report is provided However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Yorkshire Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Holland Park,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Holland Park valuers.
Leo was the the leasehold proprietor of a studio flat in Holland Park on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years remaining. Leo informally contacted his freeholder a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £100 annually. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Leo to invoke his statutory right. Leo procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed judgement and handle with the matter and sell the flat.
In 2014 we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. W Murphy who, having took over the lease of a purpose-built flat in Holland Park in February 1997. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by an additional years. Comparative premises in Holland Park with an extended lease were valued about £290,000. The average ground rent payable was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease finished in 2097. Taking into account 72 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £11,400 and £13,200 plus expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Holland Park property is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 37.79 years.