If your lease has more than 80 years remaining, you should consider extending it before it has less than 80 years. The reason for this is that once the lease has less than 80 years left, you will be required by the legislation to make an extra payment, called a Marriage Value.
At Cruickshanks we have developed a wealth of experience in transactions with leasehold properties since we are based in West End where most properties are leasehold.
Unlike freeholding or enfranchisement, lease extensions can be done on an individual basis. If your landlord agrees to extend your lease, then your only issue would be how much your landlord is willing to accept as a premium for extending your lease.
The basic requirement to extend your lease under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 is that you hold a long lease of over 21 years and that you have purchased/owned the lease for at least 2 years. The requirement to be living in the apartment was abolished by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
