Has anyone extended their lease without using a solicitor

[whataboutbob]

I need to extend the lease on my flat. Generally, I am a believer in the lay person being able to do legal work if they are well informed, and methodical. For instance I did all the probate on my mother’s estate. However when I have used solicitors in the last, I have had a feeling of racking up legal fees, not being in control. So I am considering doing it myself. The freeholder is the local council. I’d love to hear from anyone who has successfully completed the lease extension process themselves. Thanks in advance.

You are talking about an informal lease extension rather than a formal one. Informal is not a good idea for many reasons.
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"Generally, I am a believer in the lay person being able to do legal work if they are well informed, and methodical."

Ha. Presumably solicitors do years of education and training for a laugh then. Good luck!

I am not discounting solicitors' training. It's been my observation that they are not essential in all transactions, there is information and support out there for the lay person. Furthermore, instructing a solicitor can mean you loose control over time frames and costs, as billable hours rack up.

One day you will want to sell up. If you've made an error in the transaction (I assume you know what it involves) you will run the risk of seriously devaluing your property.

If you don't know what it involves I have no words.

Collaborate - totally agree with you!
Sometimes you don't know what you don't know until you know it(by which time it is often too late!)
Lease extensions are not diy jobs!

OP - it is not as simple as paying x amount for x more years.

Administering an estate can be much less complex than a lease extension (depending on the estate). The 2 are not comparable. You need a trained conveyancer or solicitor to help with this. It's not a DIY job.
Ps if you have a mortgage on the flat the lender will insist you use a solicitor

I do know what it involves, I have been through it before ( with a solicitor) on a different property with an absentee freeholder. I plan to do as much of the work myself and use a solicitor if I get tons point I can't manage.

"you don't know what you don't know until you know it(by which time it is often too late!)".

Absolutely. Part of a solicitor's work is always sorting out the mess people have gotten themselves into because they didn't think a solicitor was worthwhile in the first place. The client is then charged 10 times the amount to sort it out than it would have cost to get a solicitor to do it at the outset.

OP be very careful using what happened last time as a precedent. You need to be aware of the differences in this particular situation.

As a surveyor, I would advise you to use a professional. It's not something I would want to do myself, even if you've been through it before. The consequences of getting even a tiny detail wrong, are massive.

I have dealt with title matters at the Land Registry without a solicitor, did get a query from them about names, and middle names, but it all went through- of course there was still a fee.

For a lease extension on a flat, frustrating though it will be, I'd advise using a solicitor. They do of course make errors, but you would have some comeback.

Maybe try and research local solicitors and have an initial session with one to see how you rate them, and try to judge their experience, and behaviour towards you as a client.

And yes it will probably take ages, and not be cheap.

As ever with legal matters.

Leashold law is really complicated. And there's a lot of negotiation between leaseholder and freeholder over marriage value. The other side's lawyers could potentially run legal rings round you.

Personally, this isn't something I'd want to do on the cheap.

If it's a negotiated lease extension, some firms will do it for a fixed fee (mine does), if you're worried about costs racking up.
I'd be surprised if you find any guidance for the lay person because it really is not something they should touch.

Thank you to all who have made constructive comments. I understand that the consequences of overlooking something important could be disastrous. I will begin the process of seeking an extension with the freeholder ( the local council). They are unlikely to want to trick me or build in onerous clauses into the new lease, as unscrupulous freeholders have sometimes done. If I am at all unsure I will instruct a solicitor to write the new lease. @MinnieMountain it’s good to know it can be done for a fixed fee.

Ok, I did instruct a solicitor with my aims and I was clear on my approach.
Glad I did as
A) I set out the way I wanted negotiations to progress (did it informally at the beginning) and how i did not want my rent increased at all
B) freeholders can cock things up too - they did and my solicitor helped me buy a v favourable headlease as a result,

More recently, I have another flat and we were looking at RTM. One of the lessees decided she wanted in but adamant she could take it forward without solicitor. She hadn’t got a clue and nothing happened and got landed with a huge section 20.

I’m not best pleased.

Solicitors are not a special breed and some are shit (like anyone in life). But they are there for a reason and you just need to find one, work with them and manage them when you have to,

A client of mine a while back did some conveyancing without instructing a solicitor. Would have cost around £400 in today’s money. Ended up costing around £30k more than it would have cost to sort out the divorce because of this.

He thought it was simple too. But he only thought that because he had no understanding of what it involved.

I'd love to hear how you went with this! I've read the very sound advice offered. My starting point was very much the same as yours, including local council freeholder. Did you achieve the results you wanted without any surprises?

I think because this is with respect to land you will need the extension to be in the form of a written contract and it will need to be a deed. I would very strongly advise using a solicitor.

Sorry, just realised this post was ancient, ignore!

Fair enough! I’ve actually just appointed a solicitor. Apparently it’s best to go through a Lease Law solicitor, I googled it and found a relatively local one. Fingers crossed!