Stop! Your Lease Extension in Penarth Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Penarth 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 Penarth 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.

Why you should commence your Penarth lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Penarth lease extension today:

A Penarth leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The market value of a leasehold property in Penarth depends on how many years the lease has left to run. If it is close to or fewer than 80 years you should envisage difficulties on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension before buying. It is ideal to start the process of extending the lease is when a lease still has 82 years unexpired so that a lease extension can be addressed prior to the eighty year threshold. Leasehold Reform legislation enables Penarth qualifying lessees to acquire a lease extension of ninety years on top of the remaining lease term at a peppercorn rent (that is, rent free). The reason of the valuation is to determine the premium payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

Penarth property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Penarth with over one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.

Lending institutions may not loan monies on a short lease

Most mortgage lenders have narrowed their lending criteria in the last ten years and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funding or re-mortgage against flats with shorter lease terms, particularly under seventy years as they are considered to be inadequate for lending purposes.

Lender Requirement
Accord Mortgages 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.
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
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.
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.

What makes us experts in Penarth lease extensions?

Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Penarth leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Penarth Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Toby, Penarth, Vale Of Glamorgan,

Toby was the the leasehold owner of a high value apartment in Penarth being marketed with a lease of a little over fifty eight years left. Toby informally spoke with his landlord being a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was prepared to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a rise in the rent to £200 per annum. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Toby to invoke his statutory right. Toby obtained expert advice and was able to make a more informed judgement and handle with the matter and readily saleable.

Penarth case:

Last Winter we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. O Torres , who was assigned a lease of a one bedroom flat in Penarth in April 2009. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable residencies in Penarth with 100 year plus lease were valued around £216,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 invoiced yearly. The lease expired on 26 August 2084. Having 58 years left we approximated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 not including professional charges.

Penarth case:

Last Summer we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. S Wright , who bought a garden apartment in Penarth in February 2005. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Identical premises in Penarth with 100 year plus lease were valued about £205,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 collected annually. The lease lapsed on 22 July 2104. Considering the 78 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £8,600 and £9,800 not including costs.