You will need to get your lease valued and then follow a complex prescribed procedure which begins by serving a notice on your landlord. It is vital that this process is fully understood and that the costs of embarking upon the extension, which will include not only you being responsible for your own costs but your landlord’s reasonable costs as well, are explained to you in detail. It is essential that you take the time to ensure that your notice to the landlord does not contain any errors or inaccuracies, as this can slow down the process and increase in the costs that you will be liable to pay back to the landlord.
We can advise you on lease extension calculation and can guide you and represent you throughout the lease extension process.
We can also advise you on the process involved in extending your lease if you cannot find your landlord. This will normally involve approaching the Courts and asking for their permission to extend the lease, and providing them with the relevant information to prove that you meet all of the criteria mentioned above. We will help you work through this complicated process, and be able to represent you in any dealings that are required with the courts.
Forming a specific company as a vehicle to buy the freehold, and arranging for the participating leaseholders to become members in that company.
It is important to be aware that you will not be required to pay all of the costs of your freeholder. Under the Act, you are only required to pay for the costs of the Freeholder to check the title of your flats and the cost of transferring the freehold. You will not be required to cover any other costs in respect of the Enfranchisement.
As before, you will have to be responsible for your landlord’s reasonable costs. This will normally covering any legal expenses that your landlord has incurred, and the costs in transferring any files or paperwork relevant to the management of the block of flats. You will also need to cover your own solicitor’s costs and the costs for setting up the right to manage a company.
It is also important to be conscious of the breadth of responsibilities you will be taking on in acquiring the right to manage the property. Management responsibilities includes everything related to the property including: (i) repairing and maintaining the structure and common parts of the building; (ii) servicing the heating and lighting of the property and arranging (iii) arranging for the insurance of the building.