Morrisons Solicitors are leasehold specialists. Two of their team - Matthew Hearsum and Rachel Price - have explored why now is a good time to extend your lease.

This January the government announced its intention to make some big reforms to the current leasehold laws. Firstly they would introduce a new right to claim a lease of 990 years while also getting rid of ground rents.

The Government also proposes to fix what are known as "Deferment" rates and "Capitalisation" – which are used to calculate the cost of extending a lease, called the "premium".

The government's most significant change proposed is the 'abolition of marriage value.' Marriage value is a concept that currently forms part of the premium paid for extending a lease where the lease being extended has fewer than 80 years left.

This can increase the cost of extending the lease significantly, subject to the cost of the flat.

This may initially look like good news for leaseholders – but landlords are almost guaranteed to challenge this as the government would in-effect be wiping million of pounds from the property market.

The decision would lead to vast amount of litigation between landlords and leaseholders as the former try to make sure the reduction in value from their property is as small as possible.

It is more likely that the phrase 'marriage value' will be retired rather than that part of the premium itself. The government may also compensate landlords with the new deferment rates that are in the plans.

The capping of ground rents is also a controversial move. The lease under which the ground rent is payable is a contract between the freeholder (the landlord) and leaseholder. Whilst arguably unfair to leaseholders, particularly in the context of the calculation of lease extension premiums, the Government will be very reluctant to interfere in private contracts that have already been entered into.

An enforced cap of round rents would have massive effect on landlords and almost certainly result in rigorous challenges and protests before becoming law.

Leaseholders will be happy with the government announcement - but in practice it will arguably raise more issues.

The Government says that the ground rent cap will be introduced for any new leases before May 2024, but there is no word yet as to whether existing leases will be affected.

There is also no given time-scale on when the other legislation may be introduced, but what we do know is that these laws will be challenged rigorously by landlords in the Courts should they eventually come into action.

Leaseholders who will need to extend their lease in the short to medium term, perhaps because they are buying or selling, or because their lease has or will shortly have fewer than 80 years left to run, will not be assisted by these changes, if and when they are introduced.

As such, the best advice to those leaseholders is not to delay extending their leases in the hope that the Government might change the law at some point in the future.

Leaseholders who are not in those categories should also consider extending their leases sooner rather than later.

As time goes by and remaining years left on the lease become shorter, the premium – however it is calculated – will increase.

It is unlikely that any new legislation will be introduced for at least three or four years, and so any possible benefit obtained by waiting for the new legislation may be less than the increase in the premium due to the shorter term of the lease.