We are recognized by our peers as leading experts in the field of lease extension and enfranchisement and have opened the annual conference at the Law Society for the last three years. We have written working papers on deferment rates and relativity and have been at the forefront at challenging the status quo. Many of our clients prefer a more pragmatic approach and only about 3%-5% of our cases ever go before a Tribunal.
If you have owned the Property for two years and the lease was originally granted for a term of over 21 years you should qualify for a lease extension (if you are a purchaser the owner may be able to serve Notice and assign the right to you upon completion).
Appoint us to advise on the cost of a lease extension. Our report will contain our opinion on the likely cost of extending the lease by 90 years and the amount we would recommend is entered into the formal notice of claim.
If you decide to proceed appoint a specialist solicitor to serve the Notice of Claim. Once the Notice of Claim is served you must pay a deposit and you also become liable for the ‘reasonable’ valuation and legal fees of the Freeholder. The date the Claim is admitted is the valuation date and effectively ‘stops the clock’.
The Freeholder will serve a counter Notice and there will be a period of negotiation. If agreement cannot be reached after six months a protective application is made to the Tribunal for determination.
The premium is agreed and solicitors agree to the terms of the lease and a completion date is set.
The premium for the 90 year lease extension is calculated by capitalizing out the ground rent to a lump sum, discounting the reversionary interest and if the lease is under 80 years calculating the marriage value.
The Government sponsors Lease and this has an enormous amount of useful information, see http://www.lease-advice.org/
