Islington Lease Extensions

Living in Islington:

The London Borough of Islington is a compact yet vibrant district in the heart of the capital. Spanning a mere six square miles, this desirable residential area is steeped in history and boasts an array of superb restaurants, theatres, galleries, and shops.

Incredibly, Islington was a territory mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 – a historical survey concentrating on landowners and landholding.

At the time, the settlement was called ‘Iseldone‘ and consisted of roughly 27 households, a far cry from the populated borough we see today.

• Population: 216,600 (2021) – equivalent to around 104.1 people per football pitch-sized piece of land!
• Districts within the London Borough of Islington: Angel, Archway, Barnsbury, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Farringdon, Finsbury, Finsbury Park, Highbury, Highgate, Holloway, Islington, Kings Cross, Lower Holloway, Mildmay, Nag’s Head, Newington Green, Pentonville, St Luke’s, Tufnell Park, Upper Holloway.
• Local Authority: The London Borough of Islington’s local authority is Islington Council.

Lease Extension Regulations in Islington

If you own a flat in Islington, you are legally entitled to extend your lease by an additional 90 years.

This procedure can be accomplished formally or informally. Although, the statutory (formal) route is often recommended if you have owned your property for at least two years, as it offers significant legal protection.

Islington Council prefer to commence with formal lease extensions, which is the legal, statutory route.

For this reason, leaseholders are urged to seek professional advice, especially since Islington Council tends to negotiate on a case-to-case basis.

The Lease Extension Company has handled hundreds of successful procedures across London, as evidenced in our case studies.

With our legal expertise and local knowledge of your borough, we will negotiate the cheapest premium and fairest lease terms for you and your property.

Learn about What We Do in better detail, or visit Islington Council’s website directly to discover more about Extending Your Lease in this area.

The Lease Extension Process

Let us walk you through the lease extension procedure to give you a sense of what it entails. Please note that our team will be available to answer any questions you may have throughout the process.

• Eligibility Check
• The Initial Consultation
• Determine which path to choose: the statutory (legally protected) or the informal (direct) route.

The Stages of the Statutory (Legally Protected) Route:

• Valuation
• Serving of the Section 42 Notice
• Receipt of the Section 45 Counter Offer
• Negotiation
• Agreement of Terms
• Potential Involvement of the Courts

Curious to know more? Please see our detailed ‘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 draft one of our firms of specialist chartered surveyors will undertake the valuation of your property for the purpose of the lease extension and 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 is the 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 is imperative that it is correctly drafted and validated to ensure your lease extension is deemed valid.

At The Lease Extension Company, by working with the leading specialist legal firms in this very niche area of law we can ensure your notice is drafted and reviewed by the leading experts in this field of law before it is sent for your approval ahead of the solicitors serving Section 42 notice on your behalf to the Freeholder.

Key Freeholders in Islington

The most prominent freeholder of buildings in Islington is Islington Council.

However, when leaseholders join together to buy the freehold of a building (collective enfranchisement), the freeholder will usually be a company they all own a part of.

In some cases, leases may have been granted by an intermediate manager such as Hyde Housing Association, which handles some properties on Islington Council’s behalf.

Finding your Freeholder

Islington Council also allows you to purchase copies through their ‘Homeowner Documents’ online request form or by calling 020 7527 7715. Each option is displayed on the council’s ‘Your Lease’ web page.

How Much Will Your Lease Extension Cost?

If you’re considering extending your lease, it’s only natural to want to know the cost beforehand.

Explore the possible payments or get an estimated premium price using our helpful Lease Extension Calculator.

Lease extension costs vary from property to property, as they’re based on the following:

• 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 costs can also vary depending on the route you take. For example:

• Informal Lease Extensions: Costs are determined and agreed directly between you and 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.

About Our Fixed Fee Service

At The Lease Extension Company, we offer a straightforward service that bundles all lease extension costs into one transparent fixed fee.

We’ll work together to create a detailed plan that covers all stages, legal requirements, and costs. This will give you a clear understanding of the complete process from the word go.

You’ll also receive the assistance of a specialist RICS surveyor and experienced solicitor to ensure you’re not paying a penny more for your lease extension (premium) than necessary.

Your freeholder will be named in your lease. If you do not have a copy of your lease, you can request a duplicate from the HM Land Registry for a small fee or as an LEC client we will do this for you at the start of the process.

Start your Lease Extension in Islington Today.

Are you considering extending your lease? The fewer years left on your lease, the greater the costs are to extend it – so there’s no time like the present!

Get a quote or arrange a free consultation with our team of experts by filling out our handy online form, calling us on 0800 098 2770 or emailing [email protected].