Homehold provides an fully integrated end-to-end lease extension service, which means we take care of your lease extension right from the start and all the way to completion - saving you time and stress of having to instruct two different firms.
We handle all the legal bits in conjunction with a firm of solicitors we own, Leasehold Legal Services. They handle the legal matters while Homehold handles the valuation and subsequent premium negotiations.
Our aim is to provide you with a seamless service while also getting you a fair price on your premium. We do this by invoking your right as a leaseholder to extend the lease on your flat given by The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act of 1993 (also known as the statutory or formal lease extension). This piece of legislation gives you the legal right to extend your lease by 90 years while reducing your ground rent to zero and keeping the other terms in your lease pretty much the same.
It doesn’t matter if your freeholder is Havering Council such as the Rush Green Gardens development or a private freeholder like the flats in Marwell Close and Braithwaite Avenue. We will be able to assist you and have plenty of experience doing Havering Council lease extensions.
Considering using Homehold for your lease extension in Havering?
Who can extend their lease in the London Borough of Havering?
As long as you are a leaseholder you can extend your lease. However, there is one exception to this.
If you bought your flat under the shared ownership scheme, you would have to wait till you have stair-cased to 100% ownership.
On 31 January 2025, the requirement of owning your flat for two years was removed.
How much does a lease extension cost?
The main three things that inform the amount you shall pay are;
- The ‘notional long lease value’ of your flat, which is similar to the market value,
- How much ground rent you pay and if it increases (by how much and how often this increase happens),
- The unexpired lease term in years. if you have less than 80 years left on your lease, your premium will be higher because you will have to pay your freeholder a fee called the ‘marriage value’.
If your freeholder is Havering Council, your premium will likely be lower than private block flats, as private blocks tend to lease out flats with short leases and rising ground rents. Please be aware that this is not always the case, and if you need any advice, please do get in touch with us.
What’s the process?
The lease extension process can be complex, with different stages that requires expert attention. This is why our complete end-to-end service is useful: from the valuation to completion where we register your new lease with land registry, you can be confident we can complete your extension.
With our updates on a weekly basis, you are never left wondering what is going on with your lease extension, as we carry you along each step of the way.
Stage 1: Preparation and Valuation
To start, a firm of lease extension solicitors we own - Leasehold Legal Services, will get all the paperwork associated with your flat and the development from the Land Registry and review it. We do this to ensure that we can spot anything that might pose to be a problem along the line.
Once this is completed one of the lease extension valuers from the Homehold team will do the valuation of your property. We provide you with a report which contains the basis of our valuation and a range of how much you should be prepared to pay for your premium.
Stage 2: Notice Serving and Negotiation
Once you have read through the valuation report and you are happy with it, LLS who will serve your freeholder with the ‘Section 42 Notice’.
Your freeholder has a couple of months to respond with a counter-notice, confirming whether they will accept our proposed premium. If they do not accept, they must come back with a counteroffer.
You will be contacted by one of the Homehold team to commence negotiations. Our negotiations will commence and will use the evidence gathered during our initial valuation. We will also re-review the file to see whether there is any new transactional evidence. Negotiations on the premium will continue until we reach a figure you are happy with, no matter how long it takes and at no extra charge.
Stage 3: Conveyancing and Completion.
Once the premium has been agreed, the solicitors at LLS will look at the details of what has been agreed. Your freeholder’s solicitor will send over the amended lease to our in-house leasehold extension solicitors who will look through the draft documents and make sure the lease terms are fair and reasonable.
Once checked and the terms are satisfactory, your lease extension can finally be completed and registered at HMLR.
What do Homehold charge?
Our fixed fee is £2,580+VAT, and it is paid in three equal instalments of £860+VAT in line with each stage of our process.
This fee includes all the valuation, negotiation and legal work done.
Why use Homehold for your lease extension?
We have the necessary experience across a wide range of flats in Havering. It does not matter if your flat is in Cross Road or Gobions Avenue, or if you have a council or private freeholder. We have the necessary experience. You can therefore be assured that we have the necessary experience for your lease extension.
Hear it from another flat owner in Havering
Homehold and their solicitors LLS did a great job for us. We couldn’t possibly have handled it ourselves, at all, never mind as well. They were great at updating us. Even when nothing was happening, they emailed regularly to let us know what to expect and when. They managed each stage quickly and calmly. Good value for money, too
Helen Gasking
