Tower Hamlets Lease Extensions

Life in Tower Hamlets:

The East End Borough of Tower Hamlets came into its own during the 1070s when William the Conqueror built an almighty tower at the centre of his London fortress – the Tower of London. The surrounding communities hence became known as the ‘Tower Hamlets’.

The London borough is home to many iconic city spots, including shopping havens such as Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market and Columbia Road Flower Market, cultural sites such as Whitechapel Gallery and the soaring business hub of Canary Wharf.

If you reside in one of the historical hamlets of this London borough, you may require a lease extension for your property. To assist leaseholders going forward, The LEC has compiled this helpful guide about lease extensions in the Tower Hamlets area.

• Population: In Tower Hamlets, the population has increased by 22.1%, from around 254,100 in 2011 to 310,300 in 2021. According to the Office for National Statistics, this is considerably higher than the overall increase for England (6.6%).
• Housing Price: Most of the sales in Tower Hamlets across the past year were flats which sold for an average of £562,623 (Rightmove).
• Districts in Tower Hamlets: Aldgate, Bethnal Green, Bow, Bromley-by-Bow, Cubitt Town, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, Shadwell, Spitalfields, Stepney, Wapping, Whitechapel, Millwall.
• Local Authority: The local authority of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is Tower Hamlets Council.

Lease Extension Regulations in Tower Hamlets

Leaseholders in Tower Hamlets have a legal right to extend their lease. You can extend your lease whenever you choose, but we advise you to act before it drops below 80 years.

You can take the statutory (formal) or voluntary (informal) route to get a lease extension. Although if you’ve owned your property for at least two years, we suggest the statutory route as it offers significant legal protection under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

Tower Hamlets Council owns much of the housing stock in the borough under the name ‘Tower Hamlet Homes’. Their ‘Extending Your Lease’ webpage states that leaseholders must serve a Section 42 notice on their landlord, which implies leaseholders must take the statutory route.

The Lease Extension Company has an excellent record of completed statutory lease extensions in and around London. To help you achieve similar success as those in our case studies, we will provide you with a professional surveyor and experienced legal guidance.

The Statutory Lease Extension Process

Learn more about the statutory lease extension procedure by reviewing this simple summary.

• Eligibility Check
• Valuation
• Serving the Section 42 Notice
• Receipt of the Section 45 Counter Offer
• Negotiation
• Agreement of Terms
• Registration of your new lease

For further details, please visit our ‘How Long Will My Lease Take?’ article for more information about each step.

Serving the Section 42 Tenant’s Notice

Before your Section 42 notice is drafted one of our firms of specialist chartered surveyors will undertake the valuation of your property for the purpose of the lease extension. This will help to identify the likely ‘premium’ (the price of your lease extension) you will pay your freeholder.

Identifying Your Competent Landlord

Our specialist solicitors will also identify the ‘competent landlord’ whose interest in the property is long enough to grant your 90-year lease extension. Sometimes, this will be the direct landlord or housing management to whom you pay your service charge or ground rent. However, the competent landlord is often the freeholder of the building.

The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 requires leaseholders to serve a Tenant’s Notice (Section 42 notice) on the ‘competent landlord’. The Section 42 notice commences the lease extension and must include certain key legal information. This is a technical legal notice, and it’s imperative that it’s correctly drafted and validated to ensure your lease extension is deemed valid.

At The Lease Extension Company, we work with specialist legal firms in this very niche area of law, ensuring that your notice is drafted and reviewed by leading experts in this field. The Section 42 notice will be sent to you for approval before it is forwarded to the solicitors who will serve the notice to the Freeholder on your behalf.

See below for information on the main freeholders in Tower Hamlets and how to locate your competent landlord.

Key Freeholders in Tower Hamlets

One of the most prominent freeholders is Tower Hamlets Council, acting under the title ‘Tower Hamlets Homes’.

There are also several housing associations operating in the borough. Registered providers include Clarion Housing, Gateway Housing Association, Notting Hill Genesis and Peabody. The complete list of approved local housing providers is available on the councils’ website’s ‘Housing Associations’ section.

Please remember that shared ownership leaseholders will only qualify for the statutory right to extend their lease if they have ‘staircased’ up to 100% ownership.

Other freeholders you have the option of contacting are Regis Group via Pier Management and Chime Properties.

Finding your Freeholder

Your original lease document will list the contact details of your freeholder. If you can’t locate your lease, you can request a copy from the HM Land Registry for a small fee. As a client of The Lease Extension Company, we can arrange this for you.

How Much Will Your Lease Extension Cost?

Before extending your lease, it’s natural to ask how much it will cost. Truthfully, the premium varies from property to property because it is based on individual factors such as:

• The value of your property.
• The amount of ground rent you pay and how much it increases over time.
• The number of years remaining on your lease.

The cost may also depend on your route to obtain your lease extension.

• Informal Lease Extensions: Costs are determined and agreed upon directly with your freeholder.
• Statutory Lease Extensions: You are responsible for the valuation and legal costs of both you and your freeholder, plus the premium for the additional years on your lease.

We have also developed a helpful Lease Extension Calculator tool to estimate your premium. Input your details and gauge a rough cost for your lease extension.

Our Simple Fixed Fee Service

At The Lease Extension Company, we promise to take a transparent approach to this complicated area of property law.

Our clients receive a detailed plan covering all stages, legal requirements and expected costs. We then combine all expenses into one simple fixed fee, so you will know where you stand from the get-go.

You’ll also receive the professional support of a skilled surveyor and solicitor to ensure you do not pay a penny more for your lease extension (premium) than needed.

Initiate a Lease Extension in Tower Hamlets.

If you wish to extend your lease in the borough of Tower Hamlets, please contact The Lease Extension Company – we are happy to help.

Speak with the LEC team to obtain a quote or arrange a free consultation by filling out our handy online form, calling us on 0800 098 2770 or emailing [email protected].