With over 30 years’ experience, our Leasehold Enfranchisement team are acknowledged experts in this area of law.
Many tenants of leasehold houses or flats are unaware of their rights to purchase the freehold, either individually in relation to leasehold houses, or collectively for a block of flats, or to seek a leasehold extension. This is known as Leasehold Enfranchisement.
If you would like to know more about leasehold enfranchisement, please call 020 7436 5151.
Great reasons to buy your freehold or to extend your lease:
Your asset stops depreciating in value.
The option of correcting errors or omissions in your lease, or in the case of freehold enfranchisement, participating lessees having the option to agree new forms of lease often for new 999 year terms.
Ground rents are reduced to a peppercorn.
Freehold enfranchisement helps you to control the management of your block. Re-mortgaging may become easier.
There is a statutory mechanism for groups of leaseholders who wish to take control of their building and buy the freehold (subject to certain conditions). This is called collective enfranchisement.
Subject to the building and participants qualifying under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”), a notice is served claiming a right to purchase the freehold title to the building, from the Landlord, at a price based on various formulae as advised by a professional valuer.
There are various detailed considerations in this process and if instructed, we will make the necessary checks for you.
A company is formed and appointed nominee by participants and will be the purchaser. A contract is entered into between participants and the company for this purpose.
The parties have prescribed periods after service of the notice of claim to agree sale terms or protective applications may be made to the Tribunal or Court, to allow further time.
The process can take from 4 months to a year to complete, depending on whether the terms can be agreed easily.
You are responsible for payment of not only your own costs throughout the process but also all other parties reasonable costs, whether or not the matter completes. You are, however, not responsible for the freeholder’s or other landlord’s costs incurred in preparation of, or incidental to, any tribunal application.
If you already own or are buying a leasehold property it is important to consider the unexpired term of the lease.
It is less expensive to extend the lease whilst it still has 80 years or more to run. This is because the premium payable to the landlord will include a “marriage” value where a lease has less than 80 years left to run.
Subject to certain qualification conditions which we can check if we are instructed, a lessee may apply to extend their lease by a further 90 year term and reduce any ground rents payable to a peppercorn, with the service of a notice of claim. Following prescribed notice periods, the parties may agree terms and complete or the tenant may make a protective tribunal or court application
You will need a valuation of the lease premium by a specialist valuer or you may wish to instruct your own valuer to advise on the premium payable to the Landlord.
The lease extension process can take from 6 months to 18 months to complete depending on whether the price and the terms can be agreed easily.
Unlike conveyancing fees, we cannot give you a fixed quote for the fees until we have looked at the particular circumstance of your possible extension. We do, however, have competitive rates and will give you an estimate once we have seen the papers.
Once a Notice of Claim is served, you are responsible for payment of not only your own costs throughout the process but also all other parties reasonable costs, whether or not the lease is extended. It is therefore imperative that a lease extension is considered carefully at the outset and that the funds are available at some point. A Notice of Claim can be withdrawn at any time, but it will mean payment of all parties costs up to that date.
With over 30 years’ experience, our Leasehold Enfranchisement team are acknowledged experts in this area of law.
Many tenants of leasehold houses or flats are unaware of their rights to purchase the freehold, either individually in relation to leasehold houses, or collectively for a block of flats, or to seek a leasehold extension. This is known as Leasehold Enfranchisement.
If you would like to know more about leasehold enfranchisement, please call 020 7436 5151.
Great reasons to buy your freehold or to extend your lease:
Your asset stops depreciating in value.
The option of correcting errors or omissions in your lease, or in the case of freehold enfranchisement, participating lessees having the option to agree new forms of lease often for new 999 year terms.
Ground rents are reduced to a peppercorn.
Freehold enfranchisement helps you to control the management of your block. Re-mortgaging may become easier.
There is a statutory mechanism for groups of leaseholders who wish to take control of their building and buy the freehold (subject to certain conditions). This is called collective enfranchisement.
Subject to the building and participants qualifying under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”), a notice is served claiming a right to purchase the freehold title to the building, from the Landlord, at a price based on various formulae as advised by a professional valuer.
There are various detailed considerations in this process and if instructed, we will make the necessary checks for you.
A company is formed and appointed nominee by participants and will be the purchaser. A contract is entered into between participants and the company for this purpose.
The parties have prescribed periods after service of the notice of claim to agree sale terms or protective applications may be made to the Tribunal or Court, to allow further time.
The process can take from 4 months to a year to complete, depending on whether the terms can be agreed easily.
You are responsible for payment of not only your own costs throughout the process but also all other parties reasonable costs, whether or not the matter completes. You are, however, not responsible for the freeholder’s or other landlord’s costs incurred in preparation of, or incidental to, any tribunal application.
If you already own or are buying a leasehold property it is important to consider the unexpired term of the lease.
It is less expensive to extend the lease whilst it still has 80 years or more to run. This is because the premium payable to the landlord will include a “marriage” value where a lease has less than 80 years left to run.
Subject to certain qualification conditions which we can check if we are instructed, a lessee may apply to extend their lease by a further 90 year term and reduce any ground rents payable to a peppercorn, with the service of a notice of claim. Following prescribed notice periods, the parties may agree terms and complete or the tenant may make a protective tribunal or court application
You will need a valuation of the lease premium by a specialist valuer or you may wish to instruct your own valuer to advise on the premium payable to the Landlord.
The lease extension process can take from 6 months to 18 months to complete depending on whether the price and the terms can be agreed easily.
Unlike conveyancing fees, we cannot give you a fixed quote for the fees until we have looked at the particular circumstance of your possible extension. We do, however, have competitive rates and will give you an estimate once we have seen the papers.
Once a Notice of Claim is served, you are responsible for payment of not only your own costs throughout the process but also all other parties reasonable costs, whether or not the lease is extended. It is therefore imperative that a lease extension is considered carefully at the outset and that the funds are available at some point. A Notice of Claim can be withdrawn at any time, but it will mean payment of all parties costs up to that date.
