Lease Extension Surveyor Bromley
If you own a leasehold property in Bromley, getting a lease extension could dramatically help you financially. At Copeland Yussuf, our team of lease extension surveyors in Bromley can help you effectively and easily extend the term of your leasehold interest. Doing so can help you get the most out of your property, as it can increase value, reduce how much you have to pay, and can make selling your house easier.
For help with lease extensions in Bromley please email or call our team.
We’re experts in all areas of Lease Enfranchisement, meaning we can offer a quality service for owners of leasehold properties in and around the Bromley area. If you want to ensure that you’re managing your property well, our lease extension services can be what you need to maximise your property’s potential.
Through a lease extension with the support of Copeland Yussuf, you can add massive value to your property and make it cheaper to own. In fact, extending your lease could be the best thing you do with your leasehold. Read on to find out how, or contact our Bromley branch to learn how we can help you.
Get lease extension help in Bromley
We offer a no-obligation quote for lease extensions in Bromley. Just contact us by completing the quick form.
What is a lease extension?
A lease extension allows you to add more years to your current lease length. All properties sold on a lease have a set timeframe before they expire and ownership is returned to the freeholder. Getting a lease extension gives you more time until this expiration date, which can provide many amazing benefits.
When you get a lease extension in Bromley, you have to pay a fee to your freeholder to compensate them for any potential loss of income an increase in your term length causes. Thankfully, because of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (the 1993 Act), the amount you have to pay is heavily regulated and determined by guidelines and legislation.
Providing that you meet the eligibility criteria of the 1993 Act, you’re able to add 90 extra years to a flat or 50 years to a house that’s under years. There is a strict process you need to follow when extending your lease in Bromley, with many steps you need to complete. A lease extension surveyor can help you through this process, performing many tasks on your behalf to get through the process.
What does a lease extension surveyor in Bromley do?
A lease extension surveyor has many responsibilities and can assist you at multiple stages during the extension process. Our surveyors in Bromley will help you start the process and can also give guidance and advice to ensure you get the best outcome for your situation.
Getting a lease extension surveyor in Bromley is not optional, as there are various things that we’re required to do to ensure the process meets the standards set out by the 1993 Act.
The main task a lease extension surveyor must carry out is an in-depth and complete valuation of your property. A surveyor will visit your property, potentially multiple times, to inspect it and determine what it will be worth if placed on the market and how much it will increase after a lease extension. This valuation helps surveyors work out an accurate price to pay for your lease extension premium.
The suggested premium will be worked out using data and guidance from the 1993 Act, and our lease extension surveyors in Bromley have the skill and qualifications to generate an accurate and fair valuation.
As well as this inspection, a lease extension surveyor will help draft and send a Section 42 Notice. If you want a lease extension in Bromley, you must send this notice to your freeholder to inform them of your intentions to extend your lease under the 1993 act. Our surveyors will be able to help you draft the notice, set a price that you want to offer to your freeholder, and also ensure that all required elements are included in the Section 42 notice.
Surveyors are also on hand to aid with legal issues and can liaise with the court and property chamber if your case goes to a First Tier Tribunal.
Our lease extension surveyors in Bromley do everything per The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, meaning you’ll get a quality experience when using our team.
Why should you get a lease extension in Bromley?
A lease extension can offer leaseholders many benefits in different scenarios, helping to both save money and allow you to obtain more in the future.
The main reason for getting a lease extension in Bromley is that doing so can increase how much your property is worth, which can be handy if you’re looking to sell. Leaseholds decrease in value the less time there is on the lease, so extending it can help restore it back to its original valuation. For example, a property with 175 years left on a lease will be worth a lot more than one with 85 years left.
Although getting a lease extension can cost a pricey upfront fee, it gives you the potential to save and make money.
Another great reason for getting a lease extension in Bromley is that doing so will reduce your ground rent to zero. This means you won’t need to pay your freeholder a fee yearly. This is because, since 2022, ground rent has been abolished on new leases and those that have been extended.
Although you’ll pay more upfront if you have more ground rent, clearing it to zero can help make the property more affordable if you’re considering living there for a long time. A lease extension surveyor in Bromley can help you determine if your ground rent savings is worth more than the cost of an extension, ensuring that you always make the best financial decision.
A lease extension in Bromley can also make selling your property much easier. This is because if you let your lease term drop below 80 years before selling it, you’ll struggle to find buyers who will be able to get a mortgage for the property. Many providers will not allow a mortgage for leaseholds under 80 years, limiting the number of options. Getting an extension before this period can ensure that you have an easier time selling.
Don’t wait until you drop below 80 though, before extending, as doing so will mean that you pay more. Extending a lease under 80 years left means you’ll have to contribute 50% of the marriage value. The marriage value is the difference between the property worth before and after an extension.
So if a property increases by £30,000, you’ll have to pay £15,000 and the usual premium fee. This can make the entire process super expensive, so it’s always best to contact a lease extension surveyor in Bromley early to help you start the process and save you money.
The Lease Extension Process
As mentioned before, the 1993 act means that there is a strict process that you need to follow when getting a lease extension through the statutory route. Our team of lease extension surveyors in Bromley are experts in this process, meaning we can help you every step of the way.
Here’s a quick overview of what the process will typically look like when you extend your lease in Bromley:
Step 1. Hire a surveyor
You’ll first contact and hire a surveyor (also known as instructing a surveyor) to complete a property inspection. This inspection will allow them to work out how much the property will be worth, and then that price is used to figure out how much your lease extension will cost.
Step 2. Section 42 Notice
Once presented with your valuation, you must serve a Section 42 Notice via a solicitor to your freeholder. This notice informs your freeholder that you want to use your right to extend your lease, and it also includes your first offer of how much you want to pay. This price needs to be realistic and based on your surveyor’s valuation.
Step 3. Freeholder Response
The freeholder has two months to respond to the Section 42 Notice once it’s been delivered. They’ll reply through a Section 45 Notice, where they can either accept your price, reject it completely, or suggest a different one.
Step 4. Pay deposit
If you’ve agreed on a price, you’ll pay a deposit to confirm the lease extension. This needs to be paid within 14 days. The price will either be 10% of the total lease extension cost or £250, depending on what’s larger.
Step 5. First Tier Tribunal
If the freeholder rejects the Section 42, you have up to six months to negotiate the price you want to pay. If negotiations aren’t going anywhere, you must take the case to the Top Tier Tribunal within six months. Here, you’ll be issued a final price of your lease extension that both parties need to agree on.
At no point during the process are you ever at risk of not getting a lease extension. It’s your right under the 1993 act; all that’s in jeopardy is the amount you pay for it. A top-quality lease extension surveyor like Copeland Yussuf can help you get the lowest price possible and help you through the process quickly.
Usually, this process will take around 12 months from start to finish, but an experienced surveyor can help you shave some time off of that.
Why Choose Copeland Yussuf in Bromley?
We’re the best choice in Bromley for those looking to extend their lease, and our past customers and clients agree. We’ve helped multiple people and organisations manage their leasehold properties, and we have the experience and skill to provide great support for those in Bromley.
We have a great reputation in Bromley and are the preferred choice for various housing groups and councils, being their registered panel surveyors.
RICS, the Royal Insitute of Chartered Surveyors, regulate us. This means that everything we do is always to the highest standard and that you can be assured that we follow the latest industry standards. Everything we do is strictly per The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, making all our work legal, accurate, and reliable.
Copeland Yussuf is also part of the Association of Lease Extension Practitioners, showcasing that we’re one of the best in Bromley.
We offer a whole host of Lease Enfranchisement services, and for lease extensions, we can:
- Double-check that you’re eligible for a lease extension
- Inspect your property and create an accurate valuation
- Negotiate on your behalf to help you get a good price
- Provide legal help for any court cases and tribunals
We’re quality practitioners in lease extensions. Contact us today to see how we can help you and your property.
Lease Extension Bromley FAQs
Do you need a lease extension surveyor?
A lease extension surveyor is required at multiple stages of the lease extension. They're needed to properly value your home, allowing you to determine how much your lease extension should cost. Plus, because you're not permitted to do it yourself, they can also get you in contact with a solicitor to send a Section 42 notice.
If you get a lease extension surveyor in Bromley, they can assist with negotiations and support you during legal proceedings.
What's the difference between a statutory and informal lease extension?
When you get a lease extension through the 1993 Act, that's considered a statutory lease extension. When using this method, your lease extension request cannot be rejected, as you have a right under the 1993 Act to get a 90 year lease. You'll also get a fair quote for your extension, as the price is based on your property's value.
An informal lease extension differs because it doesn't have to adhere to the 1993 act. This means the freeholder can refuse your request, ask for an inflated price, or offer an extended term that's less than 90 years.
If you're not eligible for a lease extension, you'll have to go through this risky informal route to get one.
Am I eligible for a lease extension in Bromley?
Most people who own a leasehold will be eligible, as there are only two main pieces of criteria you need to pass.
First, you need to have owned the leasehold for over two years. This means you can't extend your lease immediately after buying the property. Plus, the original lease term had to be over 21 years when you first bought it.
As well as this, you can't extend a lease if the freeholder is a charity or if you have a commercial lease instead of a residential one.
How much does getting a lease extension cost?
It's hard to say how much a lease extension will cost in Bromley. Many factors determine this, making it impossible to do without that information.
The following factors and criteria will be used to help figure out how much you owe, but there are a few other influences as well:
- The amount of the freeholder's interest decreases because of the additional years added
- The amount the property's value increases by
- How much your ground rent cost
- The properties location, as that influences its value
- The number of years you have remaining on your lease
As well as the cost of an extension, you'll also have to pay survey fees and any costs that the freeholder had to pay due to you extending your lease.
Can you get multiple lease extensions in succession?
A lease can be extended multiple times if the lead holder meets the criteria and is willing to pay for it.
Despite this right, most people won't need to extend their lease more than once due to the large number of years that are added. As you can extend the lease by 90 years, most people would have either moved out before the lease term reaches a low value where it's appropriate to extend the lease.
The only viable situation where you may need to do so is if you've gotten an informal lease with a low renewal term.
If a property has been passed down, the new leaseholder can extend the lease if needed as long as the eligibility criteria have been met.
What's the difference between a freehold and a leasehold property?
There are critical differences between a freehold and leasehold property that make them very unique from each other. In a freehold, the owner owns the property and the land that the property is on. This ownership is neverending, only stopping if they decide to sell the freehold.
A leaseholder is different because they technically only own the property, while the freeholder still owns the land. A leasehold will also only last a certain number of years. When it expires, the ownership returns to whoever owns the freehold.
A leaseholder will also have had to pay ground rent to the freeholder if the lease was signed before June 2022. There will usually also be restrictions on what you can do to the property as a leaseholder.
Can a freeholder refuse a leasehold extension in Bromley?
A freeholder has to accept your right to extend a lease in Bromley, providing that you have met the eligibility under the 1993 act. They can disagree with your initial offered price and negotiate with you for up to six months, but they will eventually need to accept the price if it's been issued by a tribunal.
Your attempt to extend your lease can only be refused if you're getting an informal lease extension due to not meeting the eligibility criteria. In this situation, they can refuse.
What if I can't get hold of the freeholder?
If your freeholder is AWOL, this can cause issues when extending your lease. To start the process, you need to serve them a Section 42 Notice, so if you don't know how to contact them, this can slow down the process.
Thankfully, you can get a Vesting Order, with means that the lease can be extended through a tribunal without the input of the freeholder, but you'll first need to prove that you've done all you can to contact the freeholder.
For example, you'll need to prove that you've placed adverts in your local newspaper, hired a search agent, visited their last known address, and checked the probate records before applying for a Vesting Order.
How common are leasehold properties in Bromley?
In 2021, only 8% of all houses were leaseholds across the UK. This means they make up a small percentage of the property market. However, in regards to flats and apartments, about 58% of these across the country were leaseholds.
They're more common as flats because the entire building each unit is in will be freehold, and each unit will be sold under a lease.
Bromley has a relatively large portion of leaseholds, meaning that they're more common here than in other areas, and just like the rest of Kent, the numbers of leaseholds are also rising. If you're buying or selling flats in Bromley, you'll likely come across leasehold properties in this area of the country.
Is there a minimum requirement on how long a lease extension has to be?
If you extend through the statutory route, your lease extension will be either 90 or 50 years, depending on your property. As default, the maximum and minimum you can extend your lease are these terms.
However, when doing things informally, there's no limit to how long you can extend your lease. In fact, your freeholder will likely only want you to extend your lease by a few years, if at all, meaning that lower terms are more common when using the informal route.
Our London Lease Extension Experts are ready to help
Throughout our time in Bromley, we’ve obtained various feedback and testimonials from past customers who wanted to share their experiences. Our surveyors in Bromley have developed an enduring reputation with merit, and we’re determined to serve this community well for years to come.
We know that this process can be tough, long, and difficult, so we offer all-round support that our past customers have appreciated greatly.
Don’t just take our word for it, here are some examples of how we’ve supported people through the lease extension process. Reviews have been sourced from Google Reviews, Yell.com, and private feedback.
