If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Islington 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.

Top reasons for Islington lease extension

Main reasons to start your Islington lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Islington property value

The value of Islington leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The expense of extending the lease can increase significantly once the unexpired lease term is less than eighty years

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a property with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Lending institutions may not grant a mortgage on a short lease

Almost all mortgage companies require a lengthy amount of time left on a leasehold property before they will contemplate providing a mortgage on it. Even if you don't require a mortgage, you should be conscious that it is probable that someone wishing to purchase your property in the future might well do, so in the event that they can't obtain a mortgage, then the value of the property will likely suffer. Since 2008 the majority of banks and building societies have increased the required minimum lease length that they are willing to accept

Lender	Requirement
Barnsley Building Society	60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Halifax	Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society	85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
National Westminster Bank	Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
Santander	If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. 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. 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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Islington?

The lawyers that we work with handle Islington lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Islington Lease Extension Example Cases:

Mia, Islington, North London,

After lengthy correspondence with the landlord of her basement apartment in Islington, Mia initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was fast advancing. The transaction was finalised in February 2015. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Islington case:

In 2012 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. S Brown who, having was assigned a lease of a studio apartment in Islington in April 2004. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical residencies in Islington with an extended lease were worth £198,800. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced quarterly. The lease expired in 2081. Having 55 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £33,300 and £38,400 not including professional charges.

Decision in Hackney

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Islington property is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

Stop! Your Lease Extension in Islington Could Be FREE