Lease extension guides

Outright owners only

To start this process you must serve a valid Section 42 notice. We recommend that you seek legal advice for help in drafting the notice or instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf.

The notice must include:

• An indication you're serving a Tenant’s Notice as set out in S42(3) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993.
• Your full name and address.
• The date when your existing lease was granted.
• The name and address of your appointed representative.
• Your proposed premium.
• The deadline for Clarion Housing to respond (at least two months from the date of the notice).
• If you wish to propose changes to the existing lease, these should also be included in the notice.

The notice can be served to: Clarion Housing Group, Reed House, Peachman Way, Broadland Business Park, Norwich, Norfolk NR7 0WF.

Independent advice can be found at The Leasehold Advisory Service.

A valid Section 42 notice must be served. Where a Section 42 notice is served incorrectly it will be deemed withdrawn and the leaseholder must pay the landlord’s reasonable legal and valuation costs to the date of withdrawal. Be aware that leaseholders cannot re-serve another notice for 12 months.

You'll need to confirm that you're happy for us to pass your contact telephone number to the surveyor. They'll provide us with a valuation report.

Clarion must respond to the notice by issuing a Counter-Notice within the deadline provided. Clarion Housing will instruct an external RICS surveyor to obtain a premium.

On receipt of the valuation report, our solicitors will serve a Counter-Notice stating:

• Premium payable.
• Length of extension (an additional 90 years plus the remaining term).
• Ground rent payable (this will be nil or peppercorn). 

If the Counter-Notice is not accepted, both parties’ surveyors will negotiate a premium. The negotiation period should commence from the date when the Counter-Notice is served. If terms remain in dispute after two months, either party can refer the case to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) but no later than six months after the date of the Counter-Notice. 

If you wish to proceed along the formal route please arrange for your solicitor to serve the Section 42 notice on Clarion. The timescales for this process are dependent on, and guided by, legislation.

Whether you're following the formal or informal route our solicitors will:

• Prepare the legal documents, obtain lender’s consent where our interest is charged (your solicitors would deal with the consent from your mortgage company, if applicable)
• Liaise with us to confirm any service charges, rent or other charges owing.
• Provide your solicitor with a statement of what you must pay on completion. 
• Forward the legal documents to each party to be signed and returned.
• Complete the transaction, collecting all monies payable to Clarion. 

Your solicitor must deal with Stamp Duty Land Tax returns and registration of the lease extension at the Land Registry.

To start an informal lease extension application, please select your ownership type below...