Lease Extensions, Lease Variations and Licence for Alterations

Lease Extensions:

Owning a leasehold property is becoming a more commonplace investment to a lot of buyers in today’s property market. When applying for a mortgage, most lenders will demand a minimum unexpired leasehold term of at least 75 years. If a leasehold property is approaching this unexpired lease term many owners will find it difficult to sell or obtain finance if remortgaging.

Consequently, extending your lease term will increase the property’s value and make it more attractive to potential buyers.  A lease extension can be done via a statutory procedure (where the landlord is forced to grant a lease extension if you qualify under the relevant statute) or by negotiation with the landlord.

Lease Variations:

If there is an error in your lease (i.e. the lease plan doesn’t match the physical layout or essential rights have been omitted), your lease will need to be varied to rectify the problem. A deed of variation will need to be agreed and signed with your landlord.

Licence for Alterations:

Almost all leases have restrictions on alterations to the property. If you wanted to make structural changes to the property, you would have to get the landlord to agree this beforehand.   This agreement would be set out formally in a licence for alterations, a legal document setting out what the landlord says you  can and cannot do in terms of  alterations to your property.

If you wish to extend your lease term, vary a lease to correct a defect or enter into a licence for alterations, we can give you practical legal advice and help to agree terms with your landlord.