Hadley Wood leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of the lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Hadley Wood tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional 90 years under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. If you are a leasehold owner in Hadley Wood you really ought to see if your lease has between seventy and ninety years left. There are good reasons why a Hadley Wood leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years unexpired should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is put in place without delay
It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Godiva Mortgages | A minimum of 70 years unexpired lease at completion for all scheme types apart from Lifetime Mortgages (Equity Release), which require a minimum unexpired term of 80 years at completion. |
| Santander | You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or 2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or 3. no valuation report is provided However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The conveyancers that we work with handle Hadley Wood lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The lawyer we work with provide it.
In the wake of 9 months of protracted negotiations with the landlord of her purpose-built flat in Hadley Wood, Catherine commenced the lease extension process as the eighty year mark was rapidly coming. The transaction was finalised in April 2008. The freeholder’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.
Mr and Mrs. C Torres was assigned a lease of a recently refurbished flat in Hadley Wood in September 1997. We are asked if we could estimate the price would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Hadley Wood with a long lease were worth £270,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected every twelve months. The lease expired on 20 November 2100. Given that there were 75 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hadley Wood property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.