Once leases have 80 years or less to run there are lenders who will be reluctant to lend on them. At present a 990 year lease extension is available to leaseholders for £6000 plus around £1000 in Caledonian’s legal fees and expenses. Your own legal fees will be around the same.
If you extend your lease this will bring an end to your half-yearly Ground Rent payments which run at £37.50 due on the 24th June and the 25th December. This rises to £50 on each date in 2029.
The monies received by Caledonian Roofdwellers for lease extensions are taxed so the Exchequer receives around 20% and of the remainder it has been Celia and Haward’s practice to spend 20% on improvements to the block. It is difficult to do this with Service Charge as that money is for repair and maintenance.
It is also the intention of Celia and Haward, who own the freehold of De Montfort, to ensure that it does not fall into the hands of a speculator and we propose to restructure Caledonian Roofdwellers so that on our deaths the freehold will be owned by those leaseholders who have extended their leases. Around 11 have done so so far