Do you need a solicitor for a lease extension in Haringey? We have experience working in the borough and offer an end-to-end service which includes all the legal, valuation, negotiation, and project management work that you need to get your lease extended!
A statutory lease extension is a legal right which adds 90-years to the length of your flat’s existing lease and will reduce the ground rent to £0. It will keep the other terms of your lease much the same.
We have experience working in the borough and wherever you are in the borough from Muswell Hill, Horsney, Bounds Green, Crouch End or Seven Sisters, we will be able to help. Many of our lease extension have been with Haringey Council, but also other freeholders including Freehold Managers, and a wide range of private freeholders.
Who can extend their lease in Haringey?
Under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you have the right to extend the lease of your flat by 90 years.
The two common exceptions are if you own a shared ownership property (if you have a mortgage, that’s fine) or if you haven’t yet been the registered owner of the flat for two years.
Certainly, if your freeholder is Haringey Council, then you will have the right to extend.
How much does a lease extension cost?
There are three big factors which effect how much you will pay for your lease extension
- The value of your flat
- Your ground rent, and how it rises over time
- How many years are left on your lease term now
Generally, Haringey Council flats are let on leases with £10 a year ground rent and the leases will be for 125 years from the mid-1980s. Because the leases are still long and the ground rents are low, the cost of the extension is usually comparatively modest.
In contrast, if your freeholder is a private individual or company, then the cost can be higher. This is usually the case if you have a modern ground rent that rises over time, or your lease has dropped below 80 years.
We have done lease extensions on a variety of different flats in Haringey, from a late Victorian purpose-built maisonette in Wood Green to purpose-built local authority blocks in Tottenham.
What’s the process?
Homehold will manage your lease extension from start to finish, and our service includes the valuation, negotiation and legal work that is required. The legal work is carried out by Leasehold Legal Services, which is a specialist law firm that we own. LLS are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Stage 1: Preparation and Valuation
We want to make sure we have everything we need for your lease extension, so our solicitors will start by reviewing all the relevant documents – including your lease, title plan and register. They will do the same for the freehold title for the block and any other relevant titles.
The solicitors will brief our valuation team who will complete a detailed valuation to estimate how much we think you should pay for your lease extension.
This report will analyse sales of comparable properties to your own. For example, we valued a first and second floor Victorian conversion near Harringay station. We evidenced our valuation using other conversions of a similar size in the vicinity, that had also built an additional room in the roof.
Stage 2: Notice Serving and Negotiation
The next stage is started by serving a “Section 42” notice on your freeholder. This is a legal document that starts your lease extension claim and makes and offer to your freeholder of what you are prepared to pay.
They will return fire with a counter-notice accepting your offer, or more likely making a counteroffer of what they want you to pay.
It will be the job of our valuation team to work with the other side to negotiate a fair price for your lease extension
Stage 3: Conveyancing and Completion
Once a price has been agreed for your lease extension, then the legal work to extend your lease will need to be started.
Your freeholder’s solicitor will usually prepare a short document, called a Deed of Surrender and Regrant, which extends your existing lease and removes the ground rent.
Our solicitors will check that they’re happy with this document, conclude the transaction and register the lease at the Land Registry.
Haringey Council use their own legal team to do the lease extension, and we have found them to be helpful and efficient – but sometimes getting sign-off of the final lease extension document internally takes a little time.
How much do Homehold charge?
We work on a fixed fee of £2,325+VAT and this includes all the valuation, negotiation and legal work required for your lease extension.
It also includes things like postage and Land Registry charges – there are no “hidden fees”.
This is payable in three equal invoices of £775+VAT.
Our service is offered in collaboration with our subsidiary law firm, Leasehold Legal Services Limited.
Why use Homehold for your lease extension?
We have done a wide range of lease extension in Haringey, and we are confident in valuing the borough.
Why use Homehold for your lease extension?
We have done a wide range of lease extension in Haringey, and we are confident in valuing the borough.
“We have been involved in many lease extension in the Haringey area. Like most of the London Boroughs, the type of property is very varied. The most unusual flat that we valued was a four-bedroom flat above commercial property off the Great North Road in Highgate. Nothing like it had sold in the vicinity for six years, which meant ascertaining the value was challenging. However, the freeholder’s valuer had the same problem – and we ended up with a premium the client was very happy with.”
Rob Marchant MRICS, Chartered Surveyor and Head of Valuation
Hear it from another flat owner in Haringey
I was very anxious before starting the renewal of our lease. Thanks to Linz and his team, this is done literally with a few emails. They clarified what to expect at each step and provided excellent documentation explaining what to expect, how much to pay and how long the process would take. They even helped us draft a declaration of trust for me and my partner. Thank you!
Deniz Erdal
