Merton Lease Extension Solicitors & Surveyors
Everything you need to extend your lease
Lease extensions for Merton flats, handled by a local team a short walk from Raynes Park station
At Extension.Lease, we provide specialist lease extension valuations and freehold purchase advice for leaseholders of former Merton Council properties across the borough, where Clarion Housing, acting by Latimer, is now the freeholder of most ex-council leasehold flats. Our experience covers developments such as Thornton House and Lakeview Court on The Downs in Wimbledon, Central Gardens Estate and Cavendish House in Morden, and major estates including Phipps Bridge, Eastfields and Pollards Hill in Mitcham. We also advise leaseholders in Ravensbury Estate, High Path Estate and Abbey Road developments in South Wimbledon, Raynes Park blocks around Coombe Lane, and former Right to Buy flats in Colliers Wood. Our valuations are accurate, robust and grounded in detailed local comparable evidence specific to Merton and Clarion-held stock.
In the west of the borough, in Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Raynes Park, most leasehold flats are in Edwardian conversions, interwar mansion blocks and newer apartment schemes close to the stations. Values there are high, so the premium can be substantial even on a reasonably long lease. In the east and south, in Mitcham, Morden and parts of Colliers Wood, a much larger share of flats were sold under Right to Buy, and the main issue is time: many of those 125 year leases are now close to the 80 year point at which marriage value becomes payable.
If your freeholder has written to you with an informal offer, ask us to look at it before you reply. Informal deals can seem attractive, but they sometimes keep a ground rent or add terms that a statutory extension would not allow. We will compare the offer with what the 1993 Act gives you and tell you plainly which route leaves you better off.
Areas We Cover in Merton
Areas We Cover in Merton
Wimbledon (SW19): Prime & Diverse Leasehold Stock
We handle lease extensions for properties in sought-after mansion blocks like Thornton House and Lakeview Court on The Downs, modern developments such as New Wimbledon Theatre Apartments on The Broadway, and ex-local authority schemes including Pelham Road Estate and Merton Hall Road. Riverside leaseholds near Wimbledon Park also form part of our portfolio.
Raynes Park (SW20): Commuter Appeal
Our Raynes Park work includes purpose-built flats along Grand Drive, 1930s maisonettes near Coombe Lane, and ex-local authority stock in Durham Road Estate. We also act on lease extensions for smaller private developments like Chapman Square on the Wimbledon Hill fringes.
Morden (SM4): Affordable Leasehold Homes
In Morden, we cover lease extensions for flats in Central Gardens Estate, purpose-built blocks along London Road, and 1960s schemes near Morden Underground Station. Private developments such as Cavendish House and Kingswood Court are also common instruction points.
Mitcham (CR4): Regeneration Hotspot
Mitcham lease extensions include ex-local authority estates like Phipps Bridge Estate and Eastfields Estate, plus 1930s maisonettes on Tamworth Lane. We also work on newer developments such as The Willows near Mitcham Eastfields Station.
Colliers Wood (SW19): Strong Rental Demand
We work on flats in modern riverside developments like Hardwicks Square and Britannia Point, as well as ex-council blocks off Christchurch Road and Fortescue Road. The Northern Line connection makes Colliers Wood popular with investors and first-time buyers alike.
South Wimbledon (SW19): Mixed Stock Near Transport
South Wimbledon lease extensions range from ex-local authority flats on Merton High Street to private blocks like The Priory. We also cover maisonettes and conversions along Kingston Road and Morden Road.
📞 020 7388 0000
Speak to a surveyor about your Merton lease extension or freehold purchase, or book a free initial consultation at our Raynes Park office.
How Your Merton Lease Extension Progresses
How the Statutory Lease Extension Process Works
What Does a Lease Extension Cost in Merton?
The premium depends on three things: the value of your flat, the number of years left on your lease and the ground rent you pay. Two flats with identical leases can therefore produce very different figures. A two bedroom flat in a Wimbledon mansion block is worth considerably more than a similar flat in Mitcham or Morden, and the premium rises with it.
- Former council flats owned by Clarion: Right to Buy leases in Merton were usually granted for 125 years at a nominal ground rent of around £10 a year, so the ground rent adds very little to the premium. The bigger issue is time. Leases granted in the mid to late 1980s now have somewhere between 80 and 90 years left, and once a lease falls below 80 years marriage value becomes payable and the premium jumps.
- Private freeholders: Leases in private blocks and conversions vary far more. Some were granted for 99 years and are already below 80 years, and some carry ground rents that double every 10 or 25 years. Both push the premium up, and both need strong comparable evidence to negotiate down.
On top of the premium you pay your landlord’s reasonable valuation and legal costs, which the 1993 Act allows them to recover, plus Land Registry fees. Our own fee is fixed at £2,750 + VAT*, covering the valuation, the negotiation and all of the legal work, and it is paid in two equal instalments.
Ask us for a free estimate of the full cost of your Merton lease extension before you commit to anything.
Lease Extension Calculator
Extending your lease is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your property’s value and mortgageability. If your lease is under 100 years or has a high ground rent, its value may already be affected. Once it falls below 80 years, the cost of extending increases significantly due to marriage value.
Our free, instant Lease Extension Calculator gives you an instant estimate of the premium payable under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. It’s a quick, useful guide for leaseholders wanting to understand the likely cost of extending their lease before taking formal advice.
Who Owns Merton's Leasehold Flats?
In 2010 Merton Council transferred its housing to Merton Priory Homes, part of Circle Housing, and that stock is now held by Clarion Housing Group. If you bought your flat under Right to Buy, or bought from someone who did, Clarion is almost certainly your landlord and your Section 42 notice is served on Clarion rather than the council.
Away from the former council estates the picture is more mixed. Wimbledon’s mansion blocks and 1930s purpose-built flats are usually owned by investment freeholders or by companies run by the residents. Edwardian houses converted into two or three flats in Raynes Park, Wimbledon Park and South Wimbledon often have a private individual as freeholder, sometimes the owner of another flat in the same house. Each type of landlord approaches a negotiation differently, and we plan each case around who we are dealing with.
Why Use a Local Firm for Your Merton Lease Extension?
- We are based in the borough: Blakes Chartered Surveyors work from Approach Road in Raynes Park, so Merton flats are on our doorstep and inspections are easy to arrange.
- We know the local evidence: We follow sales across Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Morden, Mitcham and Colliers Wood, and good comparable evidence is what wins a negotiation.
- One team from start to finish: Blakes value your flat and negotiate the premium, and Arcadia Law serve the notices and complete the new lease. You deal with one team, not two separate firms.
- A fixed fee: £2,750 + VAT for the whole statutory process, with no hourly billing.
Recent Cases We've Handled in This Area
Everything you need to extend your lease
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