Extending your Shared Ownership Lease
When you became a shared owner, you entered into a legal agreement with us. This is known as a lease.
Your lease has a ‘lease term’ which is the length of time that it is for.
Your lease also has a ‘commencement date’ which is the date that it started.
Each year your remaining lease term reduces and without extending your lease, your agreement with us will end when your lease term runs out.
What is a lease extension?
A lease extension is an agreement between you and bpha to add more years to your lease term.
The cost of a lease extension will be decided by an Independent Royal Chartered Surveyor (RICS). We will ask you to pay us for the valuation. We will then pay the surveyors and organise getting your property valued by them.
Shared owners do not yet have a legal (statutory) right to extend their lease, but we have a policy to support shared owners which makes it possible for you to extend your lease.
Why should I extend my lease?
It is important for you to decide whether to extend your lease. We are here to help you decide what is right for you. There are some things you should think about:
- If your remaining lease term falls below 80 years it could stop you or someone else from being able to mortgage the property
- A lower lease term could negatively impact the value of your home
- If your lease term expires, you will lose your legal right to stay in the property
If your property is a house, a lease extension may not be the right thing for you. You may want to consider buying the remaining shares and becoming the freeholder of your home instead.
When should I extend my lease?
Shared owners can apply to extend their lease at any time.
We recommend that you think about extending your lease when the lease term has less than 85 years left. You may also want to take independent advice. A good place to start is the Leasehold Advisory Service.
Things to keep in mind
It may not always be possible for bpha to allow a lease extension. If bpha have a lease with the building or landowner, we can only extend your lease as far as our lease will allow.
There are costs for extending your lease, which can include:
- Solicitor fees
- Valuation costs
- Processing fees
- Lease extension cost.
Your rent and service charge payments will not change.
You may be asked to make any outstanding payments before completing a lease extension.
If you are borrowing more money against your home to pay for your lease extension, we will ask you to speak with one of our mortgage advisors. The advisors will run an affordability assessment like the one you went through when you bought your home, and they can offer you independent mortgage advice. This is a free service, and you do not need to continue with them for any products they discuss with you. If you do decide to take a mortgage product with the advisor, there may be charges that you should discuss with them before continuing.
Paying for a lease extension by borrowing more money against your home may increase your monthly mortgage payments.
Get in touch
For any questions you have about transferring ownership of your home, please contact our Homeownership Team.
Tel: 01234 674070 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, exc. Bank holidays)
