Lease Extension: The Proposed Changes and Avoiding Problems Areas

A flat owner’s right to a new lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 is valuable – and possibly even more so with the proposed Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill 2023 – but the practical exercise of ‘extending’ the lease can cause headaches for those advising both flat owner and landlord.

This session will look at avoiding and resolving some of the trickier problem areas.

• Lease length, ownership, ground rents – what will they mean in practice?
• Shared ownership leases, live/work units & flats that aren’t flats: Aldford House; Q Studios; AHGR v Kane Laverack; Avon Ground Rents v Canary
• Divorce, death and sale: avoiding the problems with ownership
• Changing lease terms and challenging costs – can it be done? The importance of Park v Morgan; Burchell v Raj & Plintal
• How will the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill 2023 make life easier for tenants – or will it?

Sarah Thompson-Copsey, Non-Practising Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer