Enfranchisement Solicitors

Long leaseholders who have been the registered owner of their flat for at least two years may have an individual right to extend their lease. You may make a claim for a new lease at any time but if your lease has less than 90 years to run we would advise you to exercise your statutory right to extend your lease.

Expert Enfranchisement Solicitors Wimbledon

The expert Enfranchisement Solicitors from Ashworth solicitors help you to fix all the issues regarding the leasehold without any hassles. Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act, 1993 long leaseholders have a right to extend their leases by adding 90 years to the original term. The right is for a new lease to be granted at a peppercorn ground rent which will mean that ground rent will cease to be payable to the freeholder.

Leases were commonly granted for a period of 99 years in the 1970’s and 80’s. These lease terms have now been reduced to a point where they need to be extended in order to make the property more marketable to prospective purchasers.

Enfranchisement Solicitors Wimbledon

Exercising your right to extend your lease will mean that a new lease is granted to you. The new lease will contain largely the same provisions as the old lease but the term will be extended and the ground rent reduced. An example of the lease being extended under the legislation is shown below:-

The lease was granted for 99 years from 25 September 1980 reserving ground rent of £50 per annum doubling every 25 years. As at January 2008, this would leave approximately 71 years remaining on the lease.

Exercising your statutory right for an extension of the lease will require your landlord to grant a new lease for a term of 90 years in addition to the original term giving a new lease with a term of 189 years from 1980 at a peppercorn ground rent. As of January 2008, this would leave approximately 161 years remaining on the lease.

If your lease is extended before the remaining term drops below 80 years there will be no marriage value payable to your freeholder and as such it will be cheaper to extend your lease. We would advise you to extend your lease sooner rather than later as failure to do so may result in significant financial consequences.

Lease Extensions

We are happy to discuss your requirements with you and to advise in general terms on all aspects of the transaction and the estimated legal cost. Please either contact us by telephone or email us at: info@ashworths.co.uk

CALL US: 0345 370 1000

FAQs

Conveyancing of a property is a formal term for the paperwork and legalities involved in transferring a property from one party to another, either though buying and selling, or via a rental or leasehold arrangement. A property specialist solicitor’s firm will be able to help with the different aspects of conveyancing.

Residential conveyancing is the name for the legalities and paperwork around buying, selling or renting a domestic dwelling, such as a house or flat, as opposed to commercial offices, retail space or warehousing. A specialist property solicitor will be able to advise on what residential conveyancing services you require, based on your individual circumstances.

There is no single answer to this question as each case will take a different length of time to complete, based on the complexity of the purchase, rental or sale, geographical locations involved and any other issues around surveys, searches and financial arrangements such as mortgages or shared ownership. Your solicitor will be able to advise how long your conveyancing work will take in more detail.

As with any financial decision, it is important to do careful research into potential conveyancing solicitors, including reading reviews, checking that the firm offers the services you require and, above all, trusting your instincts about working with the people involved. To get started, check local business directories, speak to friends and family or contact the Law Society for a list of solicitors in your area.

Purchasing residential property through a company is perfectly possible to do, however, it will require a little more specialist support from a suitable solicitor to ensure that the paperwork is in order. Speak to Ashworths Solicitors to find out how we can help.

In theory, it is perfectly possible to buy or sell a house without the support of a solicitor, and some people are attracted to the chance to save money by ‘going it alone’. However, if you do not have adequate legal knowledge, patience or time to conduct your own conveyancing, it is highly recommended to contact a solicitor to undertake the process on your behalf.

A mortgage is a loan taken out against a property or piece of land to help the buyer have access to enough funds to secure its ownership. The loan is secured against the new acquisition and repayments are made regularly until the mortgage, plus any agreed interest, is paid off. If repayments are not kept up, the mortgage provider can repossess the property in order to get their money back.

When you re-mortgage a property, this means that you take out an additional loan, which is secured against the property, to replace or add to an existing mortgage. The repayment agreements and interest rate can be the same as your existing mortgage, or completely different. These details must be agreed with the re-mortgage provider before the loan is issued to the borrower.

A leasehold property is a building or other assets that are sited on land that is owned by someone else – known as the freeholder. The leaseholder must agree to the freeholder’s terms to ‘rent’ the land on which their property sits, which often involves regular payments and service charges that pay for – or contribute towards – the upkeep of the land.

Shared ownership issues can be complicated to process, so it is highly recommended to engage a solicitor to protect all parties and to spot and resolve as quickly and practically as possible. Choose a specialist property conveyancing solicitor with experience in shared ownership matters, such as Ashworths Solicitors.

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