Taking you through the formal and informal routes of extending your lease
If you’re an RHP homeowner, you may need or want to extend your lease. A lease with a term of 80 years or less will affect the value of your home and make it difficult to sell or re-mortgage. We can offer you an extension for a further 90 years. Meaning if your lease has 80 years remaining, the extension will give you a lease of 170 years. There are two ways to extend your lease with RHP - the formal (statutory) route or the informal route. If you’re a shared owner, you don’t have a statutory right to extend, but we’re still here to help with the informal route.
You'll find out everything you could possibly need to know, here.
More Information
As a RHP homeowner, you may need or want to extend your lease at some point. A lease with a term of 80 years or less will affect the value of your home and make it difficult to sell or re-mortgage.
We can offer you an extension for a further 90 years. Meaning if your lease has 80 years remaining, the extension will give you a lease of 170 years. There are two ways to extend your lease with RHP - the formal (statutory) route or the informal route.
If you’re a shared owner, you don’t have a statutory right to extend, but we’re still here to help with the informal route. Either way, extending your lease can be a complicated process, so it’s important to get professional help to ensure everything is done correctly. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you extend your lease.
Which route should I choose?
With the formal route, you will need to serve the s42 notice on RHP in order to start the process. This guarantees that RHP will agree to the extension, provided you meet the qualifying criteria.
The informal route does not require this notice, but it is not guaranteed that RHP will agree to the extension. However, both routes offer you 90 additional years on top of your current lease term, and your ground rent will reduce to £0 on completion of your extension.
Therefore, it is up to you to decide which route is best for you based on your individual circumstances.
Deciding whether to go the formal or informal route in a property sale can be confusing. On one hand, the formal route takes slightly longer as a result of the Notices that need to be served. On the other hand, there are no notices to serve in the informal route and so the process is quicker. In addition, the formal route carries slightly higher legal fees as a result.
However, there is no negotiation on the premium whereas there is a small amount of negotiation possible under the formal route, via RICS valuers. Ultimately, the decision comes down to what is most important to the property owner. I
f speed is of the essence, then going the informal route may be the best option. However, if getting the best possible price for the property is a priority, then going the formal route may be worth the extra time and expense.
