Leasehold Enfranchisement

Expert leasehold enfranchisement solicitors

Leasehold enfranchisement covers a collection of rights available to tenants of leasehold properties including flats, apartments and houses. Our leasehold enfranchisement services include:

• Lease extensions – We advise tenants on making statutory lease extension claims under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. We also act for landlords with lease extensions claims against them. Use our lease extension calculator to get an estimate of how much it could cost.

• Freehold purchase – We act for tenants who qualify under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 in which tenants have the right to purchase the freehold so that they own the property outright.

• Collective enfranchisement – We advise groups of tenants that wish to join together to buy the freehold of their property. Collective enfranchisement was set out in the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993
• Right of first refusal – Where a landlord proposes to sell part or all of a property that contains individual flats, we advise tenants on their right to first refusal (RFR). RFR is provided by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

• Right to manage – The right to manage (RTM) gives tenants more control over the maintenance and repairs of their property without the need to pay a premium to the landlord. RTM was introduced through the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

What is leasehold enfranchisement?

If you own a leasehold property you may be entitled to collective enfranchise under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The 1993 Act gives the rights for leaseholders as a group to acquire the freehold of the building of which their flats form part. The following three criteria must initially be met in order for you to collectively enfranchise:

• At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be owned by qualifying leaseholders. To be a qualifying leaseholder you must have a lease that was originally granted for at least 21 years and you must not own more than 2 flats in the building.
• The building must be a self-contained building or part of one and be divisible vertically from the other parts. There must be at least two flats in the building and two-thirds of them must be held by a qualifying tenant. The building must contain no more than 25% commercial floor area.
• At least half of qualifying leaseholders must give notice of their wish to acquire the freehold interest

Do I need advice from leasehold enfranchisement solicitors?

The valuation process is rather complex and depends on a host of factors and should be carried out by a specialist valuer. Once you have your valuation your lawyer will prepare a form of notice for service on your landlord which will get the process underway. What follows entails the receipt of counter-notices and thereafter negotiation and agreement of terms, all of which have prescribed deadlines. For this reason, it is a good idea to find professionals who are experienced in this area of work, starting with a specialist solicitor and a valuation surveyor. They will work for you to ensure you get the best terms possible.

How long will the leasehold enfranchisement process take?

This is very dependent on whether the extension is a voluntary or statutory lease extension. With voluntary extensions, there are no set deadlines and therefore the length is associated with how quickly the freeholders want to proceed with the extension. Once the premium and terms of a voluntary lease extension are agreed it should complete in around 1-6 months. A statutory extension is more likely to take around 12 months as the process is more involved however there are set deadlines so the process cannot be “stalled” by either party.

Why choose Osbornes Law?

The leasehold enfranchisement process and legislation can be long and complex. Our lawyers are experts in both. We also have much experience in negotiating with freeholders and their lawyers to achieve the best possible terms for our clients. We are also used to working with specialist surveyors and are happy to make recommendations to our clients.

Osbornes Law is proud to be a founding member of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners and is also an approved lawyer of News on the Block, a leading leaseholder information service.

If you would like to discuss collective enfranchisement in London or further afield further please call us and ask for Guy Osborn or Amber Larner-Bird.