Swiss Cottage leases on domestic properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has approximately 90 years remaining, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. Eighty years is a significant number: when the unexpired term of a lease drops below this level then you start paying an additional element called marriage value. Flat owners in Swiss Cottage will usually be legally entitled to a lease extension; however it’s a good idea to check with a lawyer to check your eligibility. In some cases you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and steps to follow once the process is triggered so it’s best to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
It is generally considered that a property with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years unexpired, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
The lawyers that we work with undertake Swiss Cottage 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
Off the back of protracted correspondence with the landlord of her first floor apartment in Swiss Cottage, Laura started the lease extension process just as her lease was approaching the critical eighty-year mark. The legal work was concluded in July 2010. The freeholder’s charges were restricted to slightly above 550 GBP.
Mr and Mrs. H Jackson bought a studio flat in Swiss Cottage in April 2009. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar flats in Swiss Cottage with 100 year plus lease were worth £250,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced quarterly. The lease terminated on 24 September 2096. Given that there were 70 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including legals.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Swiss Cottage flat is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.