In these terms and conditions the following terms have defined meanings as set out below:
‘We’ / ‘EML’ means Extendmylease Limited;
‘You’ means the person or persons accessing services provided by EML via this website;
‘the 1993 Act’ means the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (as amended).
1. How we work
1.1 EML seeks to provide you with access to professionals who can provide you with the services that you require at a price you can afford.
1.2 EML does not itself provide legal or valuation services but provides you with access to them and will act as an agent/ introducer to these services.
1.3 The services themselves will be provided by a number of panel firms
2. Valuation Services
2.1 Where you have selected a request for assistance in obtaining a valuation we will refer you to a firm of valuers with suitable experience in your area. Where possible we will ask the valuer to contact you within a minimum of 24 business hours of our request to make initial contact with you by telephone or email. If you subsequently instruct the valuer, their fees will be payable by you and you will need to discuss these directly with the valuer when you speak to them or make contact with them.
2.2 If for whatever reason it is not possible for us to refer you to a valuer with suitable expertise in your area within the stated timescale we will report back to you confirming this to be the case and suggest a possible alternative who may be able to provide you with assistance by way of a ‘desk-top’ valuation or similar.
2.3 Requesting help in obtaining a valuation via our website is not a guarantee that there will be a panel valuer available who will be able to assist you, although we will use our best efforts to ensure that your details are passed on to one as soon as possible. In the unlikely event that we are unable to provide your details to a valuer who will be able to assist we will let you know this as soon as practical. It may be that there is no valuer available to provide valuation services to you and accordingly our obligations to you are limited to attempting to refer your enquiry to a suitable valuer within 5 working days of receipt of your request.
3. Legal Services
3.1 Where you have selected a request for assistance in obtaining legal services we will refer you to a firm of Solicitors with suitable experience in this area. Where possible we will ask the firm to contact you within a minimum of 24 business hours from their receipt of your request form from us. Most (if not all) of our panel firms do not work at weekends and as such information requests will therefore only be passed on during normal business hours. Please bear this in mind when submitting your request. If you subsequently instruct the firm, this will be on the basis of their own terms and conditions of business that will be supplied to you at the time. Their fees will be payable by you and you will need to discuss these directly with them when you make contact with them. You will also need to sign up to their terms of business and will need to produce evidence of your identity. The fees for any ‘fixed fee’ service will need to be paid by you to the firm in full by way of cleared funds before any work commences.
3.2 Where you are purchasing a ‘fixed price’ service (such as notice serving or completing your new lease) then the provision of these services by a panel firm are subject to certain qualifying terms and conditions which are set out in further detail below. Filling in and sending in an information request form or providing us with a copy of your valuation report and lease details does not guarantee that you will be able to obtain the service that you are seeking. Our obligation to you is limited to sending the contact form to a suitably qualified firm of solicitors and asking that they contact you within 24 business hours of receipt of your written request from us. We will try at all times to ensure that your request is passed to a panel firm within a minimum of 5 working days of receipt by us. Where you are intending to purchase a fixed price service and fulfill the necessary qualifying criteria the panel firm will provide the service for the fixed price as advertised on our website. However, please be aware that any other activity will be charged for separately. Fixed fees do not cover face to face meetings and generally require all attendances to be by email save where the panel firm calls you. Fees must be paid in full before work commences.
3.3 Fixed price legal services
3.3.1 Where you have requested fixed price ‘notice serving’ this is subject to the following conditions: –
a. fixed cost of £525
a lease length of more than 80 years – with at least 6 months before the lease is less than 80 years long and a premium of up to £20,000.
b. fixed cost £625
a lease of less than 80 years and a premium of up to £20,000.
These costs do not include any charges for ordering a copy of your lease (£30 will be charged in addition as a fee for this service). The notice will be served by special delivery and the disbursement cost of this is included. The fixed cost does not include serving notice by courier. If this is required courier fees will be charged in addition.
3.3.2 Where you have requested a fixed price ‘completion service’ this is subject to the following conditions:
a. fixed cost of £775
terms already being agreed with your landlord and a premium of £20,000 or less.
This price does not include any advice in relation to the premium that has been agreed or the terms of the lease that have been agreed. Terms to be agreed outside the 1993 Act – i.e. no notices have been served.
b. fixed cost of £875
terms already being agreed with your landlord under the 1993 Act and a premium of £20,000 or less. This price does not include any advice in relation to the premium itself.
In both a. and b. above the new lease must granted by way of a ‘supplemental’ short form lease restating the terms of the previous lease and must not include significant re-drafting of the existing lease terms. These fixed costs do not include any plans that may be required for the new lease and the cost of these will be charged in addition. These fixed prices do not include any fees charged by your lender for dealing with a deed of substitution.
- Where terms have been agreed with the landlord under the 1993 Act the fixed price service is only available if terms have been agreed within 3 months of the landlord’s counter notice in response to your initial notice and if the panel firm is instructed within 2 weeks of the premium being agreed in writing between the parties’ valuers. You will be required to provide copies of the relevant documents confirming this to be the case when instructing the panel firm.
- The ‘fixed fee’ completion service does not apply to 1993 Act cases where a figure for the premium to be paid for the new lease has been agreed between the parties valuers on or after a date which is more than 3 (three) months after the landlord’s counter notice in response.
3.4 Completing an information form on our site does not form a retainer with any panel firm nor does it form any kind of retainer with EML for the provision of legal services. EML does not provide legal services.
3.5 The law relating to lease extensions under the 1993 Act is extremely time sensitive. If the terms of the new lease (the exact contents of the lease itself and the premium) are not agreed within 6 months of the date of the landlord’s counter notice and no application is made to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) then your claim will be deemed to be withdrawn and you will suffer losses (including but not limited to the payment of the landlord’s legal and surveying costs incurred under s.60 of the 1993 Act). You will also not be able to bring another lease extension claim for a period of 12 months. Simply completing a form on our website does not guarantee any particular course of action or outcome merely that the information provided will be sent to a panel solicitor. The panel solicitor will not be instructed at this time and you will need to confirm their appointment with them directly once they have sent you their terms and conditions of business by accepting these. Please be aware that panel firms may refuse to accept instructions that are provided very close to any cut-off points in relation to time limits or because of volume of work. If your matter has been agreed for some time or you are unsure of the applicable dates in your case you should take legal advice immediately.
3.6 Please also bear in mind that once all of the terms (lease term and premium) have been agreed that there is a 4 month cut-off period for completing the new lease. If completion does not occur within this time frame there you will need to apply to court to protect your claim. If you have been in direct negotiation with your landlord and lease has been sent to you and the premium has been agreed, there is a risk that you may have been deemed to have agreed the lease with the consequence that the applicable time limits will start to run.
3.7 EML has no liability to you in relation to time-sensitive applications and all or any liability that may exist is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
3.8 If you believe (or have reason to believe) that your application is likely to be very time sensitive please contact an appropriate professional directly for immediate advice.
3.9 If terms have not been agreed and the deadline for a tribunal application is approaching the firm of solicitors may need to make an application to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to protect your position. For the avoidance of any doubt the cost of making any such application is NOT included in the fixed fee referred to above. If you require a Tribunal application please contact the panel firm for confirmation of their likely costs for dealing with this.
3.10 If for whatever reason it is not possible for us to refer you to a solicitor with suitable expertise within the stated timescale we will report back to you confirming this to be the case. Our obligations to you will then cease. Similarly, where you attempt to instruct a firm and your instructions do not fulfill the fixed price criteria and you are unable to agree further fees with that firm our obligations to you will cease.
3.11 Requesting a quote for fixed price legal services for a defined activity via our website is not a guarantee that such a service is available. Completing an information form on our website does not form a contract with us or with any panel firm. It is simply an ‘invitation to treat’ – i.e. a suggestion that such services may be available from a third party provider, subject to your compliance with further terms and conditions as specified that third party. The suggestion that services may be available (subject to further requirements being met) is not an offer capable of acceptance.
3.12 Once we have referred your request for information to a panel firm, our obligations to you cease.
3.13 Please bear in mind that if you instruct a panel firm to provide a service such as notice serving only that you will also need to make sure that appropriate arrangements are in place for a valuer to negotiate when the counter notice is received and that in due course further arrangements are in place to ensure that a solicitor is instructed to complete the new lease.
4. Services Provided Directly
4.1 Where you request information from us as part of our information checking service (for instance to check the length of your lease, or to obtain a copy of your lease) we will obtain where possible land registry records relating to these items and relay their content to you as soon as practically possible, normally this is within 3 working days of receipt of the information by us.
4.2 Where it is not possible to obtain the information required we will notify you as soon as possible and arrange to refund any fees paid by you less any administrative costs.
5. Referral fees: Rule 9 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007
5.1 The Solicitors Regulation Authority, the solicitors governing body, permits solicitors to make agreements with their introducing sources for referral work. Such agreements must comply with a code, known as Rule 9 of the Solicitors Code of Conduct, which contains strict rules to safeguard your interests as the customer.
5.2 EML and the panel solicitor have entered into a formal agreement under this code of conduct. EML Limited is thus pleased to be able to offer details of fixed price services on its website at competitive rates. Under the terms of this agreement the solicitor will pay EML a fee.
Notice to all users of EML:
5.3 We comply with the Rule 9 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007 published by the SRA, and any solicitor to whom we refer you is an independent professional, from whom you will receive impartial and confidential advice. You are free to choose another Solicitor.
5.4 EML will introduce you to a firm who can provide the relevant services via one of the firms of solicitors on its panel. The firm will contact you directly to confirm the likely level of fees and to obtain your confirmation that you wish to proceed with the estimate of costs given.
5.5 All professional work will be undertaken directly for you and on your behalf by the panel firm. The advice and service you get from the solicitor is, and will remain personal, confidential and independent and will be subject to your direct instructions at all times. You will be free to raise questions on all aspects of your matter.
5.6 The charge payable by you for any fixed fee legal service is as detailed in these terms and conditions and as advertised from time to time on our website. EML will receive a commission from the solicitor and possibly from any valuer that you instruct as a result of an enquiry received via this site. This fee is currently around £10 per standard case and will be paid to EML directly by the solicitor or valuer. It will not be charged to you as an expense.
5.7 The charge for services will not be affected whether or not you take other products or services offered by EML from time to time. The availability and price of other products and services will not be affected whether you choose an EML panel solicitor or decide to instruct another solicitor or conveyancer.
6. Terms of use
6.1 The EML website is designed to enable users to access legal and valuation and other related services. All legal work is referred to the EML panel of solicitors (EML undertake no legal or valuation work themselves). By using this website to obtain quotations and request legal services you are accepting the terms and conditions applying to the EML website. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions you should not use the EML website to access to those offering legal or any other related services.
6.2 We give you notice that you are free to instruct another solicitor of your choice and that there is no obligation for you to instruct the solicitor to whom the work is referred. You confirm that you have not already appointed a solicitor to deal with the transaction. The legal fees given on this website apply only to standard transactions and do not apply to any legal work over and above the standard services in either serving a notice or dealing with the legal completion of your lease. In particular, instances of missing landlords, unusual titles and or detailed debates about the terms and conditions to be included in the new lease are not included.
6.3 The additional cost of any such items will be notified to you directly by the panel lawyer. If your transaction is cancelled for any reason you will still be responsible for any costs and disbursements disbursements (such as searches) that have been paid out on your behalf by the panel lawyer. Once work commences fees are generally non-refundable.
7. Communication
7.1 Unless you notify EML or the appointed panel solicitor in writing to the contrary you give permission for the panel lawyer to communicate all relevant information concerning your transaction to EML who may include this in progress reports to relevant third parties (for instance your valuer).
7.2 Because the nature of the service means that work will commence immediately (in the case of a request for confirmation of lease length or a copy of your lease) you agree to waive your right under the Distance Selling Regulations to a 7 day cooling off period. You should be aware that if you instruct a solicitor or valuer via an introduction made via this site similar terms may apply. For further details see the terms and conditions of business when instructing a panel firm.
7.3 Completing an information request, an enquiry request, or any form on this website and submitting it confirms that you have read, understood and accepted the above terms and conditions.