How to extend lease to sell - Share of freehold via LTD company

arambol

My flats is one of 4 in the building and we all own share of the freehold via a LTD company of which we are all directors.

My lease has fallen below 80 years and it proving harder to sell.

I understand that we all have to agree for me to extend but would the other flats extend at the same time?

90 or 999 years and can we do it between ourselves or are solicitors required.

There's lots of conflicting information out there especially when a LTD company is involved so any guidance would be appreciated.


Thanks

TrickyDicky101

Do you all have the same lease term remaining?

eddddy

arambol wrote: »

I understand that we all have to agree for me to extend but would the other flats extend at the same time?

You can do whatever the four of you agree to do - e.g. extend just one lease, or extend all of them.

But it would be sensible for everyone to extend. For example, the person you sell to might be difficult and refuse to cooperate with the remaining lease extensions in the future.

If you have a mortgage, your solicitor will probably insist that you use a solicitor.

arambol

TrickyDicky101 wrote: »

Do you all have the same lease term remaining?

Yes we all have the same time remaining.

da_rule

If you are a limited company, what do your articles say about a director acting alone? Do they require that a majority or all of directors agree to enter into a lease/deed?

If you do need consent of the other directors and they are not playing ball then you could serve a statutory lease extension notice on the company. That way they have prescribed time frames they have to respond by or you get a new lease on your terms.

AdrianC

You have two hats. You can only wear one at a time.

With your "leaseholder" hat on, you approach the freeholder, and ask for a lease extension. Nobody else is relevant to that request - the other owners of similar hats don't have to do similar.

With your "joint freeholder owner" hat on, and in conjunction with the other owners of similar hats, you consider the request for a lease extension and decide between you on what to charge that leaseholder.

arambol

Thanks for the replies.

I have approached the other owners of the flats (shareholders) and have suggested that because we are all in the same boat with a short lease then we should all extend together to 999 years. They have so far agreed depending on cost.

I will now go out for quotes but is there a figure per flat that a solicitor should charge to vary the years on the individual leases. We do not require new leases. What would be usual.

Many thanks for your help.

da_rule

If you want the same terms but just extend the term then you could just type the lease out again word for word and change the term and then register it with the Land Registry.

arambol

Interesting da_rule

So, for the 5 flats we'd make 5 copies with the new 999 year amendment?

Ground rent is currents £200 per year per flat. Could we change/reduce that as well?

da_rule

You can change anything you want, if you all agree. Ground rent seems a bit pointless in your situation, so yes you could make it "£1 if demanded", and of course, you'd never demand it.

You probably don't want to mess with are the service charge provisions (providing the current lease is well drafted and fair etc).

da_rule

You could also do a deed of variation. This is a relatively straightforward deed where you vary the original lease, namely the term and the ground rent. Everything else stays the same.

When you alter the term of a lease and register it with the Land Regisry they close the existing leasehold title and make a new one (same property but new title number). This is because there is a principle in land law that you cannot alter the term or demise (the property) in a lease. Doing so is treated as a new lease and therefore a new title.

This is fine unless there's a mortgage on any of the leasehold titles. If there is you will have to get your mortgage lenders consent to renew and they will probably have to enter into new mortgage deeds in order to register the mortgage against the new title.

The mortgage company will probably insist that they are represented by a solicitor, which you will have to pay for.