Solicitors Specialising in Lease Variation

Experienced, professional landlords know the provisions they need to have in the leases for their properties to make them the profitable investments they intended. Many other landlords and leaseholders might not be quite so certain that their leases are ‘fit for purpose’. And that’s why it’s sometimes necessary for lease variation – to make sure you’ve got the right lease and its fit for purpose

So whether you’re a leaseholder or a landlord, if you think your current lease isn’t up to scratch, make sure you speak to an experienced solicitor who specialises in leasehold property .

Need Expert Legal Advice on Varying a Lease? Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE Initial Phone Advice – with no strings attached.

Does the lease really need variation?

It’s surprising how many leases are not fully fit for purpose. Some were badly drafted in the first place, and others are simply out of date.

Among the most common reasons to apply for a lease variation such as:

• Dysfunctional, inadequate or absent provisions, which might include those covering:

•  Periodic increases in ground rent and the recovering of any arrears that accrue.
•  Repair and maintenance required for a reasonable standard of accommodation.
•  Provision of services required for a reasonable standard of accommodation.
•  Recovery of money from either party expended on building maintenance by one of them.
•  Computation of the service charge.

• Out of date provisions that don’t relate to the current state of the property

• Provisions that are not compatible with modern day legal best practice.

Will I need a completely new lease?

We only recommend this where the number of changes we need to make to your lease are so many that a deed of variation would be too difficult to read in conjunction with the lease, OR if you specifically request a new lease because you don’t like your old lease (perhaps because its so old fashioned and hard to read).

Deed of variation for lease extension – the statutory right

The leaseholder might also want to extend the lease on their property by 90 years. This right to lease extension is a  legal statutory right and is the one type of lease variation application that your freeholder cannot refuse – although much negotiation between the parties might ensue before it is completed.

Once the extent of lease variation has been mutually agreed by the freeholder and the leaseholder it is straight forward process to finalise the procedure. The freeholder’s solicitors will obtain a copy of the original lease, the full written details of the variations to be made and the name and address of the leaseholder’s solicitors.

If it was the leaseholder who instigated the lease variation procedure then it is usual for them to pay the legal fees incurred for completing the lease extension.

Click here to read more about how lease extensions work and how specialist team can help you.

Lease variation – Do I really need a solicitor?

Whilst there is no legal requirement to have a solicitor undertake a lease variation, the potential complexity of the issues involved coupled with the overriding need to ensure that the involved party’s best interests are not compromised, makes appointing a specialist solicitor strongly advisable.

Failure to obtain mutual agreement to a lease variation

Of course where mutual agreement to the variation cannot, even after mediation, be obtained and application has to be made to The First Tier Property Tribunal (previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT) under Part4, Section 35 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, a lease variation solicitor’s involvement becomes almost essential.

It is the trained lawyer who will have the expertise to assess how the Tribunal is likely to view the application, what the likelihood is of them ordering compensation is and who will have to pay that compensation. Foremost however, they must determine whether or not the circumstances for making a lease variation application to the Tribunal have been met. These circumstances are specific, covering:

1) Inadequate provision for:

• •  repairs and maintenance
  •  provision of services
  •  computation of service charges
  •  recovery of monies spent for the tenants benefit.

2) A variation requiring two or more leases to be identically varied to be effective.

3) A counter application to vary the leases on other flats owned by the same freeholder in a block on any of the grounds included in ‘1’ above.

4) The failure of a lease to make satisfactory provision in relation to insurance for dwellings other than flats.

If a groups of leaseholders make a joint application they must be able to show that all the leases involved have to be altered for the variation to be effective.

Getting a decision to vary agreed between leaseholders

When there are eight leases involved, the decision to vary the lease must be agreed by at least seven of the leaseholders. When there are less than eight leases the decision to vary must be agreed by at least 75% of the leaseholders and not opposed by more than 10%. The freeholder/landlord can count as one of the parties concerned.

Deed of Variation – the effect

Upon an agreed variation being made, a ‘Deed of Variation of a Lease’ will be issued and the conditions of the old lease will cease to have effect. However, a lot can go wrong between wondering if your existing lease is up to scratch and having the correct changes made.

The roof over your head as a leaseholder or an income from leased properties as a landlord or freeholder are things you don’t want to put at risk by getting this process wrong. So taking good specialist legal advice at the right time will usually save a great deal of heartache later on.

What is a sweeping up clause?

These clauses, inserted into some leases, are usually fairly limited in their scope. In theory a sweeping up clause might allow the freeholder to vary services either at their own discretion or where they argue it will benefit the lease owners.

However a sweeping up clause is not permitted to override any substantial terms of the lease – so if you come across this, as often with other areas of leasehold law the first thing to do is “read your lease” and see what it actually says. Remember that with long leasehold flats (i.e. flats with a lease term that was originally at least 21 years), there is no such thing as a standard lease.

If despite that, freeholder tries to make significant changes to the level of service they provide and tries to rely on a “sweeping up” clause, you’re going to need specialist legal advice.

Looking for specialist lease variation solicitors? Call us now

Whether you’re a tenant, landlord or freeholder, we can help you with lease variation.

Our team regularly take clients instructions taking instructions with regard to property matters by e-mail, phone and Zoom video call – so it doesn’t matter where you live – even if you’re based overseas- provided the property is in England and Wales.

• Call us today on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice
• Or email us using the contact form below  – or we can arrange to ring you back when it suits you