What should the cost be of extending a lease period?

Fortyfoot

I have a flat which is on a lease along with 30+ other leaseholders. We are all wanting to extend the leases as there are only about 50 years left. We do not know much about this type of work or the periods we could extend to.

What number of years can leases be extended to and what should it cost to extend each lease for each of the 30+ properties. The freeholder is agreeable for this to be done. We are all shareholders in the freehold company.

Thanks,

Fortyfoot

partialycloudy

You would need to have a professional valuation done.

We looked into this a few years back, it had 65 years left and cost £19,000. I think that would have added 199 years to it.
But we purchased a share of freehold in the end as it was only a couple of hundred quid more.

Good Luck

princeofpounds

speak to lease-advice.org, a free govt-funded advice service. They have guides on their website that help explain pricing etc.

If all the leases are the same length, and you want to extend by the same amount, then as the freeholder you can collectively decide to charge nothing besides costs.

If the terms have to be different for different flats then you probably do need a surveyor, but between 30 of you it won't be too expensive.

Generally speaking you can extend to any term the freeholder agrees to, but traditionally the normal extension is 90 years, IIRC, as that is the standard extension on offer via the statutory route (i.e. when you can't agree with freeholder and have to go to tribunal).

Fortyfoot

Thanks to both of you for taking time to reply.
I have now received a letter giving details of proposed costs from a solicitor via the management company who look after our properties.

He sets our the estimated costs -

Legal fee £400.00
Vat on fee £80.00
Coppies of deeds and lease £9.00
Land registry fee £40.00
OS1 Search £3.00

I think that the legal fees are high, what are your views?

Thanks,

Fortyfoot

G_M

lease advice