Solicitors specialising in Lease Extensions in Bournemouth and nationwide
Got a short lease question? Call our specialist solicitors on 01202 834450 or FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.
Bournemouth has many thousands of flats like the photo on the right of those on the corner of Meyrick Road. And if you own one of those, did you know you probably have the right to extend the lease on your flat by up to 90 years? If you have owned your flat for at least 2 years (and your lease was originally granted for at least 21 years) then you can compel your landlord to grant you a leasehold extension – regardless of whether you’re actually living in it or have rented it out.
Leasehold update – On November 27th, 2023, the Government introduced the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Click here to read the Leasehold Reform Latest News
Lease extension – what’s in it for me?
• As your lease gets shorter, it becomes worth less. Extending a lease simply increases the value of your flat. Although there is a cost to lease extensions, this is almost always much less than the corresponding increase in the flat’s value. Banks are usually keen on lease extension lending and now is the right time to get a cheap UK lease extension, with property prices still depressed
• As your lease gets shorter, it becomes harder to sell. Some purchasers just don’t like short leases and many mortgage lenders refuse to lend on leases with only 65 years left
• Unless you accept that your lease is eventually going to be handed back to your landlord, it will need renewing eventually – and every year that goes by the cost of extending the lease on a flat increases – especially when the remaining lease drops below 80 years
Click here to find out more about lease extension
Extending your lease – the private and statutory alternatives
There are 2 ways to get your leasehold extension. There is the formal or statutory route. under this, there is a strict timetable and standard applications that need to be completed. In contrast you can also negotiate a lease extension outside the act – that is referred to as a private voluntary or informal lease extension. The 2 are quite different with advantages and disadvantages and whether a formal or informal lease extension is right for you will depend on your individual circumstances.
Click here to read more about private and statutory lease extensions
Not sure whether a single lease extension or joining together with other leaseholders to buy the freehold is right for you?
Our team not only handle thousands of lease extensions, but we also regularly handle collective enfranchisement – the right of leaseholders to come together to purchase the freehold.
Click here to read about the differences between extending your lease and buying your freehold
Is there anyway to extend the lease if I haven’t owned a flat for 2 years ?
The answer is yes – and broadly there are 3 main ways of doing so:
1. Negotiating an informal lease extension – but as previously mentioned, there are some risks involved here that you don’t get with a formal statutory lease extension
2. If you are buying a flat with a short lease, and the current vendor has owned the property for 2 years, you can ask them to put the original lease extension application in – and they can transfer the benefit of that to you on completion. This means that you can move on with your lease extension from day one – our lease extension and conveyancing teams work together closely and deal with this all the time
3. If you are buying a probate property (i.e. a property previously owned by someone who has died), then provided that the deceased was themselves qualified for a statutory lease extension, you too have the right to extend the lease as long as you do so within two years of the grant of probate
Absent freeholder – don’t see how you can extend your lease?
Don’t worry, we can help you this. We regularly deal with this situation.
Click here to read more about missing freeholders and lease extensions
Need a Lease Extension? You can trust our specialists
Our expert Lease Extension team have already helped thousands of people like you in extending leases [as well as lease enfranchisement and right to manage company formation] over the last 25 year. we have a specialist five strong team doing nothing but this area of work – perhaps the bigger specialist team of its type in the country. And they can help you too in extending your lease.
What’s more, we are:
1) solicitor members of ALEP – the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners –
2) the sole partners of The HomeOwners Alliance – the sole solicitors recommended for lease extension advice by the leading independent national body fighting for the rights of Britain’s 17 million homeowners.
3) Progressive Approved Solicitors – 1 of just 3 law firms England and Wales which is formally approved by Progressive Property – the UK’s largest property investment education company
Although we represent many clients by phone email and video call, we are relatively near to you in Bournemouth– with offices in Salisbury and Fordingbridge.
Click here to read more about leasehold enfranchisement or 
taking over the right to manage your block.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here are testimonials from two surveyors who specialise in lease extension valuations.
“I have worked alongside Bonallack & Bishop on numerous lease extensions and have been impressed by their efficiency, regular communication and knowledge of the subject.”
Stephen Higley, Smith Robinson Higley Ltd, Chartered Surveyors, Poole
“As one of the leading and longest established firm of chartered surveyors specialising in leasehold reform, we have worked with Bonallack & Bishop on many occasions. The process is complex and a procedural minefield. Bonallack & Bishop certainly know the ropes and we have always found them knowledgeable and efficient and a joy to deal with.”
Andrew Pridell, Andrew Pridell Associates Ltd – specialist Lease Extension Chartered Surveyor and Valuer, Hove
Click here to read reviews of our lease extension solicitors from just some of our happy clients
The importance of getting your own lease extension valuation
When you come to extend your lease, your freeholder will give you a price for doing so – and that’s known as the premium. You can virtually guarantee that your freeholder will have paid for their own specialist valuation – so they have a good idea of how much you should have to pay. Certainly the large estates which own significant numbers of the block of flats in Bournemouth, will always have their own surveyor’s valuation.
However, sadly some freeholders are underhand and can sometimes ask outrageous premiums. And as valuation is an art rather than science, there is usually an initial difference between the kind of premium that your freeholder puts forward and that which is suggested by the leaseholder. If you haven’t got your own valuation, you really will have no idea what the right level of premium should be. And that’s a terrible way to enter into any negotiation.
So make sure that when you come to extend your lease, you a valuation from a specialist lease extension surveyor who really understands this area, who can also help you with the process of negotiation with your freeholder.
And be aware that not many surveyors do specialise in this area of work. Fortunately we have our own informal panel of specialist valuers nationwide, made up of surveyors who we have used regularly and who we rely on and trust to provide good advice on valuation. And a couple of those are based in the Bournemouth and Poole area. We are more than happy to introduce you to 1 of them as part of our one-stop shop service.
Want to know more about the process of lease extension – click here to read more about How To Extend Your Lease
Living in Bournemouth? Considering a Lease Extension? Get in touch with us today.
For FREE no strings attached initial phone advice, simply:
- Call us on 01202 834450 or on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or
- E-mail us using the online enquiry form below
