Stop! Your Lease Extension in High Peak Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in High Peak are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in High Peak has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Main reasons to start your High Peak lease extension


Main reasons to start your High Peak lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your High Peak property value

When it comes to domestic leasehold premises in High Peak, you are in fact renting it for a certain amount of time. In recent years flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are less than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in High Peak with a lease nearing 81 years remaining should seriously consider extending it sooner rather than later. Once a lease has under eighty years remaining, under the current statute the freeholder can calculate and charge a greater premium, based on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lending institutions will not lend on a short lease

Many banks and building societies will not lend on a lease with under seventy years unexpired - although this varies from lender to lender. A purchaser will undoubtedly encounter difficulties in obtaining a mortgage and this could result in your High Peak property being difficult to dispose of or refinance.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Chelsea 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.
Godiva Mortgages A minimum of 70 years unexpired lease at completion for all scheme types apart from Lifetime Mortgages (Equity Release), which require a minimum unexpired term of 80 years at completion.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years

LEASE EXTENSIONS

We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office

Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Get in touch with one of our High Peak lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in High Peak,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with High Peak valuers.

High Peak Lease Extension Example Cases:

Tyler, High Peak, Derbyshire,

Tyler owned a 2 bedroom apartment in High Peak on the market with a lease of fraction over 72 years outstanding. Tyler on an informal basis approached his landlord being a well known Bristol-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 new rent to start with set at £100 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Tyler to exercise his statutory right. Tyler procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed judgement and deal with the matter and sell the flat.

High Peak case:

Mr and Mrs. J Simon took over the lease of a studio apartment in High Peak in January 1998. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Identical properties in High Peak with a long lease were worth £173,800. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed monthly. The lease terminated on 12 July 2081. Having 55 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of costs.

High Peak case:

Last Spring we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. I Murphy , who was assigned a lease of a basement apartment in High Peak in January 1996. The question was if we could estimate the price would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Similar homes in High Peak with an extended lease were valued about £235,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated on 23 August 2092. Given that there were 66 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of costs.