Hillingdon Council cannot deal with any informal applications, in terms of the likely premium payable. You would need to seek your own legal and valuation advice.
The relevant legislation is the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (The Act). This Act gives you the right to:
- extend your lease by 90 years in addition to the remaining unexpired term at the date of the notice and
- to have the ground rent reduced from £10 per annum to nil.
How long is left on my lease?
You should have been given a copy of your lease when you purchased the property or, if you have a mortgage, your lender may hold this.
You may be able to obtain the information from Land Registry. Charges are available on the Land Registry website.
What to do next
A formal notice needs to be served on the council. This is called an 'initial' notice.
The notice should be addressed to
Kelly Dyson, Gangasuthan Bala,
Section 42 notice, Planning & Corporate
London Borough of Hillingdon Legal Services
3E/04 Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1UW
Once the initial notice is served, you must cover the counci's legal and valuation costs, which will be £2,520 (legal fees £1,400, valuation £1,020, plus £100 for document sealing). An administration fee £950 also applies. If negotiations become prolonged, additional charges of £250 per hour plus VAT will be incurred.
In total, external valuation, administration, and legal fees amount to £3,470, payable alongside the lease extension premium and the leaseholder's own legal costs.
If you withdraw your request, you would still have to meet any reasonable costs. In response to the notice, the council has to serve a counter notice, within approximately two months. This is the council's offer to you to extend your lease by a further 90 years.