How do I extend leasehold on flat

Lornamezzo

Hi

I own the first floor flat of a Maisonette, and half share in the company which owns the freehold for the ground floor and my flat.

the current leasehold is 74 years

I need to get this extended as it appears to be causing issues for me to sell the flat

Unfortunately I cannot gain contact with the 2 joint owners of the ground floor flat to get their signature to extend the lease.

I am told I have to have my signature plus 1 of theirs to be able to extend the lease. Is there anyway round this at all so I can proceed just with my signature?

many thanks for any help/advise on this,

Lorna

Fire_Fox

Welcome! It's worth running an advanced search, these issues come up regularly. IMO you need to make contact with the owners, not simply for extending the lease but because you may struggle to sell without a mechanism in place for organising repairs and maintenance. What have you done so far to make contact with the other freeholders - have you downloaded the land registry information? Is the flat tenanted, if so have you written via the tenant and/ or the letting agency and/ or their lender?

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

Lornamezzo

Thanks

Yes I have written to the other freeholders - but have had no reply, so not sure I will ever get one - can I get some kind of indemnity insurance on this?

lorna

Fire_Fox

How have you written to the other freeholders, by all of the methods I suggested - address on land registry, tenant, lender, letting agency? As I said IMO you need to make contact, not simply for extending the lease but because you may struggle to sell without a mechanism in place for organising repairs and maintenance. This will come up in conveyancing.

Please read the advice guides in the link I posted.

propertyman

Another victim of poor advice on RTE....

Your option is to serve proceedings on them to compel them to do so, or have the Court execute an extension in their absence.

It's specialised proceedings - sorry.

The other one is slightly sneakier- who is/are the director or directors of the company? If it is just you then you as the officer can sign, and agree the premium, the other as a merely a shareholder or member need not.

If the Company Articles assist you can convey a board meeting to resolve to offer the extension, can remove the director and take that decision, however you are going to have to pay the company a fair premium.

At the very least you will then be able to effect the extension and sale or the threat of removal/or cash will bring the director out of the wood work.

Again detailed advice is required but I have done it more than once and cannot give such detailed case handling advice in forum like this Talk to your solicitor and they will glaze over and then think aah.

Now as a future shareholder in the freehold company a buyer should realise that any premium for an extension would be half as they would not pay themselves

That should with a price reduction encourage them, however it is still going to be a problem with getting a mortgage.

Fire_Fox

propertyman wrote: »

Another victim of poor advice on RTE....

Is that aimed at me? If so why don't you like the Leasehold Advisory Service?

propertyman

I thought your motto was if in doubt hug.... but somehow you think that it is aimed at you? Not sure how you even link that to the LAS either... oh well.

"Another victim of poor advice on RTE" right to enfranchise.

If you do an "advanced search" you will see how many times I and others express concern over the poor advice given to freeholders, who enfranchise and are not told about the pitfalls of
a; not putting in rules to a trust deed or company articles to deal with such situations
b; not immediately extending leases.

Richard_Webster

If you do an "advanced search" you will see how many times I and others express concern over the poor advice given to freeholders, who enfranchise and are not told about the pitfalls of
a; not putting in rules to a trust deed or company articles to deal with such situations
b; not immediately extending leases.

Regrettably they often don't do it because they think they are "shared freeholders" and the leases do not matter any more or they can change them at will!

Fire_Fox

propertyman wrote: »

I thought your motto was if in doubt hug.... but somehow you think that it is aimed at you? Not sure how you even link that to the LAS either... oh well.

"Another victim of poor advice on RTE" right to enfranchise.

If you do an "advanced search" you will see how many times I and others express concern over the poor advice given to freeholders, who enfranchise and are not told about the pitfalls of
a; not putting in rules to a trust deed or company articles to deal with such situations
b; not immediately extending leases.

It was a question not an assumption, thank you for answering.