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Luxury Flats

Leasehold Enfranchisement

A solicitor can guide you through the complex process of leasehold enfranchisement, ensuring that you understand your rights and options. They will help prepare and submit the necessary documentation, negotiate with the freeholder, and represent your interests throughout the application.

Hold the Lease

Are you eligible to apply for leasehold enfranchisement on your residence? Are you a Landlord with a Tenant that is applying for leasehold enfranchisement, or the Right to Manage? Are you a Landlord who is planning to sell your freehold property?

Leasehold enfranchisement is a very complex area of law that governs the process of leasehold extensions, or the purchase of the freehold of a property on which the leasehold has been held. There are a number of options available to leaseholders, so it is essential that leaseholders and freeholders alike engage the services of experienced conveyancers.

In order to exercise their rights in terms of leasehold enfranchisement, leaseholders must qualify under the terms set out in law, including The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1987 for flats, The Leasehold Reform Act of 1967 for houses, and The Leasehold Reform,

 

Housing and Urban Development Act of 1993. The common qualification for the various options available is that the original lease signed was for 21 years or more.

  • Statutory Leasehold Extension: This process extends your leasehold for a further 90 years, if you have owned the leasehold property for at least 2 years, and if it was for 21 years or more when originally signed. It also reduces your Ground Rent to nil.

  • Right of First Refusal: Current tenants or leaseholders must be given the first right of refusal, if the intention is to sell the freehold. If this procedure is not followed, tenants or leaseholders can disrupt the sale.

  • Right to Manage: Qualifying tenants or leaseholders in a block of flats can join together to assume responsibility for the management of the building, where they are dissatisfied with the current management.

  • Freehold Enfranchisement: This process enables the leaseholder to purchase the freehold of a property, if that leaseholder has owned the lease for more than 2 years and if it was originally 21 years or more in length.

  • Collective Enfranchisement: This process enables leasehold flat owners to join together and purchase the freehold of the block in question, giving legal ownership of the land and communal grounds, along with control of general management and service charges. For this process to begin, a minimum of 50% of the flats in a block must participate, with each participant being a qualifying leaseholder. The difference in qualification here is that the usual requirement of owning the lease for more than 2 years does not apply.

Each of the options involved in leasehold enfranchisement brings with it a detailed legal procedure, and those that provide for collective actions are further complicated by the number of parties involved. At Scotts Hall & Birtles Solicitors, our highly experienced Conveyancing team, is able to work with Leaseholders and Freeholders in any leasehold enfranchisement transaction. We provide clear advice and guidance, in plain language, and ensure that procedures progress as smoothly as possible.

To find out more about how Scotts Hall & Birtles Solicitors can help you with your leasehold enfranchisement transaction, please contact our team today.

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