Extend your lease or purchase the freehold

Extend your lease

You can extend the lease of your flat by 90 years if you are eligible.

Before you make an application to extend your lease, you should get your own professional and legal advice. You can also obtain more information from the Leasehold Advisory Service

Fees

Before you make an application to extend your lease, you will need to ensure that you have the finances in place to fund it. The initial fees will include:

  • your solicitors fees
  • our legal fees (£750)
  • valuation fee (£720)
  • application fee (£188.04)

Your finances should also allow for the purchase of the extended lease term, based on market value (the premium).

Apply

If you are eligible to extend your lease, you need to serve us with a formal notice, known as a tenant’s notice.

This has to include certain information, including details of your existing lease and what you think you should pay to extend your lease. The notice must be in the form specified by section 42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. We have 2 months to respond to your notice.

Serving the notice commits you to paying our costs, so it is important to think things through beforehand.

We have to respond to your notice by serving a counter notice. In this notice we will either accept your proposed price or say what we think you should pay.

We will get an independent valuer to value your property and calculate the price for the premium payable.

Once the price is agreed, both parties instruct solicitors to complete the legal documentation and register the new lease at the Land Registry.

If we cannot agree a price, either side can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), who will make a decision.

Collective enfranchisement

Leaseholders owning flats in the same building may have the right to collectively purchase the freehold. The legal term for this process is 'collective enfranchisement'.

Leaseholders have the right to purchase the freehold if you and your building are eligible.

Before you make an application to collectively purchase the freehold, you should get your own professional and legal advice. You can also obtain more information from the Leasehold Advisory Service

Fees

Before you make an application to collectively purchase the freehold, you will need to ensure that you have the finances in place to fund it. The fees will include:

  • your solicitors fees
  • our legal fees (£750)
  • valuation fee (£720)
  • application fee (£188.04)

Apply

If you are eligible to collectively purchase your lease, you need to serve us with a formal notice.

The notice must be in the form specified by section 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. We have 2 months to respond to your notice.  

We will get an independent valuer to value your property and you need to do the same.

Once the price is agreed, both parties instruct solicitors to complete the sale of the freehold.

If we cannot agree a price, either side can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), who will make a decision.

Once you have purchased the freehold, you will need to remember:

  • properties occupied by council tenants will have to be leased back to us on 999 years leases
  • council tenants will still have the Right to Buy their properties
  • the new freeholder will collect service charges for properties not involved in the freehold purchase, including those leased back to the council
  • the new freeholder will be responsible for insuring the building

Contact information

Office
Home Ownership
Harlow Council
Civic Centre
The Water Gardens
College Square
Harlow CM20 1WG