If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Blackfriars has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.
Main reasons to start your Blackfriars lease extension today:
A Blackfriars lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.
The only way is down when it comes to Blackfriars lease terms.
Blackfriars leaseholds that have a remaining term lower than 80 years will de-escalate in market price at a rapid rate,
and the cost to extend your lease will go up.
An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold
Leasehold residencies in Blackfriars with over one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.
Banks and Building Societies will not loan monies on a short lease
Most banks have constrained their lending criteria in the last ten years and borrowers are encountering difficulties in arranging finance or re-mortgage against property with shorter lease terms, particularly below 75 years as they are deemed to be insufficient for lending purposes.
| Lender |
Requirement
|
|---|
| Accord Mortgages |
85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower.
|
| Leeds Building Society |
85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
|
| National Westminster Bank |
Mortgage term plus 30 years.
For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
|
| Nationwide Building Society |
- Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where a proposed Lease Extension does not meet these requirements, however you feel that this is in the best interest for our mutual client, please refer all details to the Issuing Office for us to consider.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
|
| Skipton Building Society |
85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage
For Buy to Let cases:
- lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and
- consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary
|
Get in touch with one of our Blackfriars lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Blackfriars,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Blackfriars valuers.
Blackfriars Lease Extension Example Cases:
Charlie, Blackfriars, London,
Charlie owned a 2 bedroom flat in Blackfriars on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years remaining. Charlie on an informal basis spoke with his landlord being a well known local-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was keen to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent at the outset set at £150 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Charlie to exercise his statutory right. Charlie obtained expert advice and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and readily saleable.
Blackfriars case:
In 2010 we were called by Dr R Green who, having moved into a first floor apartment in Blackfriars in January 2008. We are asked if we could estimate the price could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparative properties in Blackfriars with an extended lease were valued around £285,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 collected quarterly. The lease ran out in 2105. Taking into account 79 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 not including professional charges.
Decision in Camden
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Blackfriars premises is
Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229.
This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.