The Lease Extension Guide: Part 5 – what can a leaseholder do if they are selling their flat?

Jazmin Perry

This is Part 5 of The Lease Extension Guide, which will be useful for both long leaseholders looking to extend their leases, and landlords of residential property subject to such long leases. Part 5 will consider what a leaseholder can do if they are selling their flat with a short lease, or if the buyer is requesting that the leaseholder extend it.

A leaseholder who has less than 90 years left to run on their lease should consider applying for a lease extension. Failure to do so could make the lease more difficult to sell or mortgage, and as the remaining term reduces, the premium payable for an extension will increase.

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What can I do if I am selling my flat?

If you have a short lease then your buyer may be willing to take over the benefit of the lease extension claim on the basis that you start the process for a statutory lease extension, and they effectively finish it off.

This has two benefits, the first is that you have a buyer when you have a short lease and the second is that they are able to obtain a lease extension without having to wait 2 years to qualify (as in order to be eligible for a lease extension, the leaseholder must have been the registered owner of the leasehold property at the Land Registry for at least 2 years prior to the request).

Care must be taken to assign the benefit of the lease extension claim at the same time as the leasehold interest is assigned. If the two become separated, then this will have the effect of making the claim deemed to be withdrawn.

If you are considering this option, it is vital that you speak to your solicitor as additional documentation will be required in order to protect the claim for a lease extension.

The final part of The Lease Extension Guide will be Part 6, which will provide a summary of the key points to take away from parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in bullet point form.

We are experts in this area and we have an experienced Residential Property team and Property Disputes team who can assist leaseholders and landlords with lease extension and lease enfranchisement matters.

Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought.

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