The question of how to get a lease extension is a mystery to many people, but extending the lease could be immensely beneficial if people knew how to start the process and account for the costs involved. So this article breaks down the process step by step so you have all the key details you need to make an informed decision going forward.

If you have owned a property for more than two years, with a lease of more than 21 years (long lease), you can force your landlord to give you a lease extension. You can ask your landlord to extend the lease at any time.

Did you know this could give you an extra 90 years on top of your lease? That’s for a flat, while the figure for a house is 50 years, as there are different rules for different types of property. And then, once you’ve been granted an extension, you won’t have to pay any ground rent. This peppercorn land rental, for all intents and purposes, means you pay nothing.

Does this sound too good to be true? Where is the catch and what are the costs? You can search for a lease extension calculator online to get an estimate, but the costs depend on several variables, such as the value of the property, the length of the lease, and the currently paid ground rent. Also, the cost of extending a lease can double once the value of the marriage takes effect, that is, if there are less than 80 years left on the lease. If a lease is approaching 80 years, it is critical that you start the legal process immediately to avoid cost increases because the valuation date is frozen when the legal process begins.

You will need the surveyors to submit an appraisal of the lease extension and negotiate the premium to be paid with the landlord’s representative. An attorney will then be needed to draft a Section 42 claim notice to be served on the landlord. The owner can inspect the property to create his own valuation and then submit a counter offer. The attorneys then negotiate the terms of the new lease, and in the event of a dispute, either party may appeal to the First Level Court within 6 months of the counter notification. The terms are agreed upon, the new lease is signed, and the funds are transferred.