Leasehold extension advice please

[AutumnRose1]

Wonder if anyone can help with this

I need to extend the lease on my flat. I approached the freeholder in June saying I’d like to do this, and she said “send a surveyor round”.

So I paid for the solicitor, survey etc and after months of chasing, the freeholder has said she now wants me to serve statutory notice. My suspicion is that she thinks the offer is too low but I don’t want to start negotiations as she will take another six months to reply I suppose.

I understand that I’d now have to pay her legal costs as well. I’m slightly unsure what to do now. I feel as if the statutory route has potential to go on and on as well.

Does anyone have any advice or experience? I can of course have another meeting with my solicitor but that means extra charges and I might just be stupid in not understanding this. I’m worried that the freeholder will have really high costs for me to pay.

All advice gratefully received, thank you.

Statutory is always advised. Although it is more expensive in terms of legal fees, it is much safer! Leaseholds have become ever more complex and you should get a solicitor who is experienced in this field. If great attention is not paid to the finer details, big problems can occur in the future.
With regard to timing, going down the statutory route ensures that legal time frames are adhered to (on both sides!) Your f/h has to respond within a given time.
The National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group is a great place to go for support and advice.
Also LEASE the government website gives free 15 minute advice over the phone. You have to go on their website to book. You can make as many bookings as you need.

Thanks informed, I think we spoke on the other thread

I’m familiar with LEASE but I’m not sure if they can help with the money concerns, I’m basically worried that the costs will be endless if I have to pay the other side’s legal fees. Am I right in thinking they could just pick a really pricey solicitor and pick over small points etc to make more money?

I’m now wondering if it’s better to take the hit in the price of the flat later on.

Thanks Hugo

Seems to be a matter of opinion, it’s 79 years
I should have renewed last year but my dad got sick and died and it fell off my radar

This is a bit random, but something else that concerns me is the freeholder recent behaviour. She has stopped sending us notices for ground rent, then rang us all and asked why we hadn’t paid and said we should send her a cheque! The managing agent is taking action on this one.

I’m not on Facebook but my main worry is if the costs of extending it spiral out of control. If I issue a legal statutory notice, am I signing a blank cheque?

Oh dear! Firstly you really must extend your lease. Once under 80 years, your property will devalue rapidly. The decline in value is not proportional which is important to understand. Each year below 80, the value decreases at a greater and greater rate.
You will not be signing a blank cheque as costs need to be "reasonable". Could be around £2000 - £3000 for freeholder costs.
I can pm you a trusted solicitor who will work hard on your behalf. They are involved in our campaign for leaseholder justice and we are all lobbying for regulation. They will charge you the going rate but will not overcharge and will fight hard on your behalf.

Regarding your ground rent- this is one thing above all that you must ensure you pay. Some leases state it must be paid "whether or not it is demanded". Make a note in your diary every year to ensure you remember.

They are talking about this exact issue on LBC right now!

Informed, thank you, I’d appreciate a PM.

I just think “reasonable” could mean anything!

Re the ground rent, I was more concerned that sending a cheque with no demand letter could be misconstrued later on. She could claim we’d just sent her a personal cheque?

I do mine by bank transfer into their account marked ground rent and the address. You must make it clear it's for ground rent and nothing else!
I would guess your freeholder is dragging out the lease extension for the reasons above- the longer it's delayed the more the freeholder gains!
Will PM you shortly.

Yes, I do that too - but she’s phoned everyone asking for a personal cheque. She sounded a bit, er, strange tbh. I wonder if she’s having a financial crisis.

Also, the solicitor is suggesting I do a statutory notice with the original amount, the amount the freeholder refused, surely if I’m going to start statutory now, I should increase my offer because I know she’s unhappy with the original one?

Is there a management company? Who deals with the maintenance etc? How many in your block?

Also was the surveyor for you or for the freeholder? You really both need your own if there are going to be disagreements over value. That's why you go the statutory route and the tribunal (First Tier Tribunal) make the final decision.

Yes, the management company told us not to send any personal cheques. Hopefully they can sort that bit.

Thanks so much for the help and PM, much appreciated

I paid about 5k to extend with 80 years left. The good thing about serving the notice is that it comes with time limits- my freeholder didn't make a counter offer within the limit period to respond to my offer so they had to accept the amount I offered.

hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-managing-2/step-by-step-guide-to-extending-your-lease/

Thanks Brown

My solicitor says that the freeholder has to respond to the offer within two months. Does that mean if she doesn’t respond in two months, she has to go with the price I’ve said?

Informed, the survey was for me. But when I originally approached the freeholder and asked how she’d like to proceed, she said to do it informally and get my own survey done.

PS I don’t know how to phrase this politely but when I say she’s been a bit strange, I mean I’m half expecting that she will be unable to manage this and might end up delegating to a power of attorney. I think she may be unwell, or heading towards that.

So I may be inventing worries, but it is a worry - suppose this switches to another person half way through, either a PofA or someone who inherits the freehold? I can see chaos ensuing there.

I don't think a f/h has to respond if done informally. They should but are not legally obliged to. With statutory, they do have to respond (think within two months). Your solicitor should know this to be honest and if not , I would be worried.
I can only advise you to engage a specialist and serve the statutory way.
I would do this asap (serve formal notice) the reason being that the clock stops with regard to the lease terms (years) decreasing. Once you serve formal notice , the years left on lease remain frozen whilst you go through the process. This is obviously a positive thing as you are not going to lose more money through depreciation.

The solicitor does know and probably told me at the meeting and I just can’t remember

I was simultaneously doing probate for mum and just made a bad choice. For some reason I had it in my head that the clock stopped when I made an offer, not an actual notice.