Do you own a leasehold flat in the London Borough of Bexley? Do you require a lease extension solicitor/surveyor? If so, Homehold can help you today!
Considering using Homehold for your lease extension in Bexley?
Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, if you own a flat, you're legally entitled to extend your lease by 90 years and lower the ground rent to £0 i.e. a peppercorn, while the other terms of the lease remain largely unchanged.
If you need a lease extension in Bexley, Slade Green or Welling because your lease getting lower and lower, Homehold have a unique proposition for you. We can offer both a lease extension valuer and solicitor to handle the entire process.
Who can extend their lease in Bexley?
Nearly all leaseholders have the right to extend their lease. The only exception being, if you bought your flat through a shared ownership scheme and don't own 100% of the property, you're not eligible to extend your lease (yet).
Thankfully, from 31 January 2025, leaseholders are no longer required to wait two years before extending their lease, due to a change in the new Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
How much does a lease extension cost?
The cost of your lease extension is determined by three factors:
- The value of your flat
- The remaining years on your lease
- The annual ground rent you pay (and whether it increases over time)
If your freeholder is the London Borough of Bexley, your premium is likely to be lower. However, the process can take longer to finish as most local authorities are slow to respond back to queries. Typically, these flats were leased from the 1980s with a 125-year lease and they have a low ground rent such as flats found in Ely Close, Erith.
However, if you have a private freeholder like flats found in Queenswood Road in Sidcup, the process may be slightly quicker but this could mean it is also more expensive as typically these flats can have onerous ground rents.
What’s the process?
The lease extension process can be complicated, involving multiple stages that require expert attention from experienced lease extension valuers and solicitors. That's why our one-stop-service approach is what you need for an efficient process.
Homehold and LLS (our own law firm) work hand-in-hand to ensure your lease is extended with full transparency and we work strictly for the leaseholders.
We send out regular updates weekly to clients during the negotiation phase - so you can be in the loop and never left wondering about the progress of your lease extension.
Stage 1: Preparation and Valuation
Prior to kicking off the lease extension process, we must first review all the relevant documents related to your flat and the wider development. This step is carried out by our in-house legal team at Leasehold Legal Services. This is done early in the process to prevent any delays down the line and make sure we pick up any potential nasty surprises.
Following the review, our valuation team will evaluate your property to work out what your flat is worth. You’ll receive a thorough valuation report, along with a list of comparable properties to support the assessment.
The main evidence we consider are flats that have sold within your development in the past three years, as well as flats in the broader market that have sold in the last two years.
Stage 2: Notice Serving and Negotiation
An important responsibility of the valuation team is to determine an initial figure to propose to your freeholder for the lease extension – so we can send them a ‘low-ball’ offer to kick off proceedings.
This offer will be part of the Section 42 Notice, which will be served to your freeholder by LLS. The notice claims your legal right to extend your lease and remove your ground rent, all whilst keeping the same terms.
Your freeholder then has two months to respond with a Section 45 Notice (counteroffer) and typically, they will take the full time to reply and come back with a higher price. That’s when we will kick off the negotiation work so that we can achieve a fair price for your premium.
Stage 3: Conveyancing and Completion.
Once an agreement is reached, Bexley Council will send an updated lease for LLS to thoroughly examine. This is carefully reviewed to ensure that the only changes are the addition of 90 years to the lease, the reduction of ground rent to zero, and no other alterations are made.
Finally, the last thing for LLS to do is to register this with Land Registry!
What do Homehold charge?
Homehold offers a fixed-fee service for all lease extensions, with pricing set at £2,580+VAT. This fee is split into three separate instalments of £860+VAT.
All legal work carried out by LLS, our in-house law firm, is included in the fixed fee. LLS is fully authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Why use Homehold for your lease extension?
With extensive experience in handling lease extensions across the London Borough of Bexley and beyond such as Bexleyheath or Belvedere, we are fully equipped to manage all aspects of the lease extension process. We recognise that your flat is more than just a property—it’s both your home and an investment. That’s why we approach each case with the utmost care, attention, and respect it truly deserves.
Hear it from another flat owner in Bexley
I am extremely pleased with the service provided by Homehold and LLS. They have explained things in a clear and transparent way throughout the entire process, from the first conversation on the phone with the rep from Homehold, through the legal process with LLS, up to the final signing of the lease extension.
Nicky
