We have recently added a tool to our website that allows you to get an idea as to the cost of your lease extension. Around half of the phone calls we receive on this subject involve the client asking for such, so it made sense for this information to be available to the public to use.

There are four inputs to the Leasehold Calculator: the estimated long lease value of the property, the current lease length, the current ground rent payable and whether the property is Prime Central London (PCL) or Greater London (GL). You may already have some idea yourself as to what your property is worth, but a quick look on Rightmove in your local area, should provide some further guidance. Just remember that estate agent’s asking prices are merely that, with many often embellished for the sake of gaining the instruction!

For the length of your current lease, either look at your property’s register of title or the lease itself, but be careful to look for the actual commencement date of the term, and not the date upon which the lease was first entered into. In the example below, it is the 24 June 1988 date that is relevant, not 10 August 1988. You should also be able to determine your ground rent in the same fashion.

Another common question we get asked is ‘how accurate is your estimate?’ The answer to this is that the calculator is reasonably accurate, in as far that it is useful to obtain an initial estimate. If it was completely inaccurate then the calculator would serve no purpose. A lower value property with a longer lease is going to be less complicated than a higher value property with a shorter lease.

You will also notice, if you play about, that there can be large differences between PCL and GL, so whilst your property may not be in Kensington or Chelsea, opinions as to how to treat geographical areas, differs widely between surveyors. The calculator also takes reference from what are commonly referred to as the RICS Graphs of Relativity as opposed to local sales of short lease flats. Upon commissioning a more detailed report, your surveyor may find supporting evidence that overrides these graphs leading to your premium fluctuating in either direction.

So, input some figures and get an idea as to what your lease extension might cost you and if you want a little further advice or wish to instruct us, please do so either via our enquiry form or call us on 020 7183 2578. One of our expert leasehold extension surveyors will be at your service.