Apply to extend your lease

Before you make an application to extend your lease, you should get your own professional and legal advice. You can also obtain more information from the Leasehold Advisory Service.

You have the right to extend your lease for the term of 90 years in addition to the remaining term of your lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The advantage of extending your lease is that the current ground rent which you pay will be reduced to a peppercorn rent, which means free ground rent.

To extend your lease, you must meet the following criteria:

• you have been originally granted a lease of more than 21 years
• you have owned the lease for a minimum of two years

Financing your lease extension

Before you make an application to extend your lease, you will need to ensure that you have the finances in place to fund the cost of the lease extension and all associated fees. These fees may include:

• professional fees for the valuer and the valuation
• solicitor fees should you obtain legal advice
• landlords reasonable costs

Apply for a lease extension

You will need to serve us with a formal notice, known as a Tenant’s Notice. This has to include certain information, including details of your existing lease and what you think you should pay to extend your lease. The notice must be in the form specified by S42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

We strongly recommend you instruct a solicitor for the preparation and serving of the notice as any inaccuracies may result in the notice being deemed invalid. You are liable for paying our costs once we receive your notice, so it is important to think things through beforehand.

Please send your notice to the Leasehold and Right To Buy Service.

• lease extensions: a guide for leaseholders