When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Malden, you are actually buying a right to live in a property for a set period of time. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a long period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly especially once there are fewer than 80 years left. Leasehold owners in Malden with a lease approaching 81 years unexpired should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under 80 years remaining, under the current Act the freeholder can calculate and charge a greater amount, based on a technical computation, known as “marriage value” which is payable.
It is conventional wisdom that a property with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years left, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Nationwide Building Society | - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years. - There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start). 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 - Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years. 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 55 years - Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat - 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat) - 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership) - 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis 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% 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 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. |
| 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:
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| 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 |
| 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. |
Lease extensions in Malden can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and valuer with experience in this area.
We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have a wealth of experience dealing with Malden lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.
Callum was the the leasehold owner of a studio apartment in Malden being sold with a lease of just over fifty eight years left. Callum informally approached his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent at the outset set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Callum to invoke his statutory right. Callum procured expert advice and secured an acceptable deal informally and sell the flat.
Last Summer we were e-mailed by Ms Kayleigh Adams , who was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Malden in January 2006. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Malden with 100 year plus lease were worth £280,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 billed quarterly. The lease came to a finish on 8 August 2104. Taking into account 78 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 plus fees.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Malden residence is 158 West Hill in November 2010. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the freehold reversion should be £99,650 This case was in relation to 7 flats. The unexpired lease term was 75.88 years.