Southwark Lease Extensions

Living in Southwark:

Southwark is home to some of London’s best riverside attractions, including the Tate Modern, The Shard and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Moving beyond the busy tourist hot spots, you will find vibrant residential areas such as Peckham and Deptford.

From contemporary purpose-built apartments to terraced and semi-detached houses, a variety of homes are available in this thriving and well-connected area. If you own a flat or maisonette in Southwark, there’s a high chance you could benefit from a lease extension for your property. Allow The Lease Extension Company to support you through this process, ensuring the fairest premium possible.

• Population: Southwark’s resident population on Census Day 2021 was 307,600 (Office for National Statistics).
• Housing Price: Most of the sales in Southwark over the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £516,185 (Rightmove).
• Districts in Southwark: Bankside, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Crystal Palace, Denmark Hill, Deptford, Dulwich, Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, Elephant and Castle, Herne Hill, Honor Oak, Kennington, Newington, Nunhead, Peckham, Peckham Rye, Rotherhithe, Southwark, Surrey Quays, Walworth, West Dulwich.
• Local Authority: The local authority of the London Borough of Southwark is Southwark Council.

Lease Extension Regulations in Southwark

Leaseholders in Southwark 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.

Southwark Council allows leaseholders to take the formal or informal route, provided they meet the qualification criteria. This information is featured on the councils’ ‘Extend Your Lease’ webpage.

If you’d like to embark on the lease extension procedure, you’re in safe hands with The Lease Extension Company. We have conducted many successful statutory lease extensions in and around London, as evidenced in our case studies. Using professional surveyors, solicitors and extensive knowledge of your borough, we will replicate this success for you.

An Overview of The Lease Extension Process

To understand what a statutory lease extension entails, see the simple overview below.

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

Look to our helpful ‘How Long Will It Take My Lease?‘ 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 and identify the potential ‘premium’ (the price of your lease extension) you will pay to 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 must be 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.

To find your freeholder, see below for our breakdown of the main freeholders in the Southwark borough.

Key Freeholders in Southwark:

The primary freeholder in Southwark is Southwark Council. However, there are also several housing associations and providers operating in the area that offer affordable or shared ownership opportunities. These providers include L&Q Group, Southern Housing and Hyde Housing.

The entire ‘Housing Associations’ list is available on the Southwark Homesearch website. Remember that shared ownership leaseholders will only qualify for the statutory right to extend their lease if they have ‘staircased’ up to 100% ownership.

Finding your Freeholder

Consult your original lease document to find the contact details of your freeholder. If you cannot 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 on your behalf.

Alternatively, Southwark Council can retrieve a copy from their archives. Visit the ‘Housing – Get a copy of your lease’ section of their website and complete the online form.

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

How Much Will Your Lease Extension Cost?

Lease extension premiums vary 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.

Your costs can 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.

To gauge your costs, use our Lease Extension Calculator tool to input your details and gain a rough estimate.

All About Our Fixed Fee Service

At The Lease Extension Company, we take a simple, straightforward approach to this sometimes problematic area of property law.

To do this, we will develop a detailed plan covering all stages, legal requirements, and your expected costs. We will then combine all expenses into one simple fixed fee so you know what to expect from the beginning.

You’ll also receive proficient guidance from an experienced surveyor and solicitor to ensure you’re not paying a penny more for your lease extension (premium) than necessary.

Kickstart Your Lease Extension in Southwark.

To start your lease extension, please contact The Lease Extension Company. We will use our professional skills and knowledge of your area to ensure the best possible results for your property.

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