Do you own a leasehold apartment or flat in Brighton? Are you fed up with the cost of maintenance or with having to deal with a particular difficult freeholder. If so, there is every chance that you could be entitled to buy the freehold of the block using a legal process called “collective” or “leasehold enfranchisement”. And there is a similar right to buy the freehold of a leasehold house.

What’s more, once the collective enfranchisement process is completed, leaseholders have the right to grant themselves 999 year leases for what is known a “peppercorn rent” i.e. nil rent.

You will need the advice of specialist lease enfranchisement solicitors to guide you through the system, and here at solicitors, Bonallack and Bishop, we have a dedicated team of lease extension and freehold purchase specialists who can offer all the expert advice and expertise you could need.

Looking To Buy The Freehold Of Your Block In Brighton? Looking For The Right Legal Advice? Call Us On FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 For FREE Initial Phone Advice.

Getting a Specialist Leasehold Enfranchisement Lawyer

When going through the process of a lease extension or collective enfranchisement, it is crucial that the surveyors and lawyers you deal with are specialists. Why? Well, leasehold enfranchisement is a complex legal area and it involves unusual legal terminology and strict deadlines. The overwhelming majority of property solicitors have very little experience in this area, if any at all. It is therefore important to find the true specialists –  and in reality there are so few of them.

Don’t put yourself at a disadvantage without specialist advice – your freeholder will almost certainly have the backup of legal experts.
NB it’s also possible to buy the freehold of your leasehold house – click here for more information

Working Together for a Smooth Enfranchisement Process

Your solicitor will also have to work with your chosen valuer [and the project manager if your block is a medium or large sized block] to make sure the enfranchisement goes through without a hitch.

Our legal team works with surveyors who specialise in lease extension and enfranchisement every day of the week – what’s more, if you don’t know which surveyor to appoint in Brighton, just ask us – we know exactly which Brighton-based specialist surveyor to use and, if you wish, we can appoint them and instruct them as part of a one-stop service on your behalf to value the enfranchisement premium you are going to have to pay your freeholder.
Click here to read more about the leasehold enfranchisement process

Recognised Leasehold Enfranchisement Experts

It’s not always that easy to find solicitors who have expertise in leasehold enfranchisement.

Here, however, we have 5 strong Leasehold Team who do nothing but help leaseholders nationwide extend their lease or purchase the freehold of their block – taking instructions by phone, e-mail or video call. And over the last 25 years, we’ve both represented numerous  freeholders, and leaseholders like you, in many thousands of lease enfranchisement, lease extension and right to manage cases. Currently we are taking about 500 such cases each year.

But don’t just take our word for it. We are the only solicitors nationwide recommended for enfranchisement and lease extension work by the HomeOwners Alliance – Britain’s leading campaigning group for home owners.

And here’s what one of Brighton’s specialist enfranchisement valuers says about us:

“As one of the leading and longest established firm of chartered surveyors specialising in leasehold reform, we have worked with Bonallack and Bishop on many occasions. The process is complex and a procedural minefield. Bonallack and Bishop certainly know the ropes and we have always found them knowledgeable and efficient and a joy to deal with”.
Andrew Pridell, Andrew Pridell Associates Ltd – specialist Lease Extension Chartered Surveyor and Valuer, Hove

We are also members of ALEP (The Association Leasehold Enfranchisement Solicitors. ALEP logo” src=”https://www.enfranchisementsolicitors.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Full-Alep-logo-300×105.jpg” alt=”Brighton Leasehold Enfranchisement Solicitors. ALEP logo” width=”300″ height=”105″ />of Leasehold Enfranchisement Solicitors),  the only nationwide organisation representing specialist enfranchisement surveyors and lawyers.

Leasehold enfranchisement – what are the pros and cons?

Many leaseholders feel that they would like more control over the management of their property. And if that sounds like you, you have 2 main options. Either you can buy the freehold or you can apply for the ‘right to manage’ the block.  But be aware that both options mean that you need to make a joint application with other leaseholders – and that can prove tricky if you come from a large block, because these applications require the support of at least 50% of leaseholders (and both of you if your building has just 2 flats) .

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of going down the collective enfranchisement route?

• Freehold purchase – the advantages

• Increase the value of your home: prospective buyers are likely to be more attracted to flats where they will own the freehold.

• Extend your lease for free: if you choose to buy the freehold you will not need to pay a fee to extend your lease and can extend it up to 999 years (with the agreement of your fellow freeholders).

• You don’t pay ground rent: if you own the freehold, you will not need to pay any ground rent.

• You choose service providers: this means you can control the amount you pay in service charges whereas before you paid the service charges determined by the freeholder.

• Avoid conditions: As a leaseholder you are bound by various conditions over repairs and pet ownership for example which can be frustrating having forked out on a home. This is not usually the case as a freeholder, provided the other freeholders either agreed to amend the terms of your lease or not to enforce any restriction.

• Freehold purchase – the disadvantages

So far so good, however some elements of freehold purchase are less attractive, for example:

• It’s not cheap: enfranchisement can, depending on the value of your flat, prove quite expensive – but this is almost always exceeded by the value that it can add to your home.

• You are going toneed your neighbours’ help: It can be difficult – especially for those living in large blocks – to draw together a team of people who are willing to engage in collective enfranchisement and who will be organised and co-operative throughout the process. You may even struggle to find the freeholder (though don’t worry if they’re missing – our team can help you through the process to buy a freehold even with an absent freeholder).

• It can be a slow process: leasehold enfranchisement usually takes about 12 months but if your freeholder is uncooperative it can take considerably longer, especially if you don’t instruct specialist solicitors.

• The lease conditions may remain: the conditions of your lease will not change simply because you have bought the freehold, although it is quite common for freeholders to agree lease variations for other freeholders. It is therefore important to instruct an expert solicitor to update unfair or badly drawn-up leases.

• You have responsibilities: as a freeholder you become responsible for setting up and running your new freehold company, keeping the accounts, maintaining the property and securing insurance. This is not for the faint-hearted. it can be a particular strain if the block is a big one or if you have some difficult issues or awkward leaseholders. Failure to properly run the freehold company and maintain their block can have expensive consequences.

• Disagreements may still occur: some neighbours are still likely to complain about service charges once the freehold company has been set up. These disputes may arise between you and other freeholders as well as those who were not party to the collective enfranchisement. And this can be particular difficult if you’re living in the block and the arguments are with your near neighbours or friends.

Flat in Brighton? Looking to Purchase the Freehold of Your Block? Call us today

Exercising your right freehold purchase can prove really complicated – that’s why it’s so important to have an experienced and expert enfranchisement lawyer on your side.

Our team represent have all the expertise you need – representing clients throughout England and Wales. Lease extension and collective enfranchisement is all they do.

So if you are the owner of a flat in Brighton and you want to purchase the freehold [or simply extend the term of your lease];

• Call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice and a FREE quote OR

• Email us using the contact form below

There are thought to be around 1 ½ million leasehold flats in England and Wales and many of these are in Manchester. If you live in Manchester and you own a leasehold flat you may be interested in the leasehold enfranchisement process (also referred to as ‘freehold purchase’ or ‘collective enfranchisement’). This right to enfranchise enables you to get together with some of your fellow flat owners to jointly buy the freehold of your block and to gain greater control over your property.

Do You Want to Purchase The Freehold Of Your Block In Manchester? For Specialist Legal Representation You Can Rely On, Call FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 For FREE Initial Phone Advice.

CHOOSE AN EXPERT FOR YOUR LEASE ENFRANCHISEMENT

Having an expert enfranchisement solicitor on board is really important. Why? Because tricky deadlines and complex legislation make lease enfranchisement and lease extension difficult areas of law.  And what’s more, very few property solicitors have any enfranchisement experience. However, specialists like those here at Bonallack & Bishop have handled numerous block purchases – so you can rest assured that we have all the experience needed to help you buy your freehold.

It’s also worth bearing in mind the importance of ensuring that you and your freeholder are on a level playing field. Given that whoever owns the freehold of your block is almost guaranteed to instruct a specialist enfranchisement solicitor, it is important that you get advice from a similarly experienced solicitor. A specialist solicitor will understand exactly how to work effectively with your project manager and surveyor to help make sure your enfranchisement goes through at the right price with minimal delay.

Enfranchisement is the legal process by which a leaseholder can purchase the rights of their leasehold property from the Freeholder. This allows them to obtain a new lease from the Freeholder that may be extended up to 999 years and provides several benefits. These include improved maintenance and management of their building, easier remortgaging opportunities with lenders, added security for family inheritance, and increased value which often attracts buyers away from conventional leasehold properties.

THE COSTS OF GETTING IT WRONG

And getting the application wrong or missing one of the deadlines can prove expensive. It could mean that your application simply fails entirely, and you have to start the procedure from scratch, with all the legal costs and delay that entails. And, what’s worse, if property prices are rising, and given that the length of your lease is falling at the same time, you may find that by the time you get your new application in, the actual price of the premium you will need to pay to the freeholder has gone up.

EXPERT LEASE ENFRANCHISEMENT SOLICITORS

• Buying your freehold isn’t cheap – especially if you live in an expensive flat (because one of the factors that affect the price or premium you will need to pay to your freeholder, is the value of your flat). So it’s really important to get the right solicitor on board from day one. solicitor. Our specialist team has over 25 years of experience assisting thousands of freeholders and leaseholders with enfranchisement and lease extension.

• At Bonallack & Bishop, our enfranchisement solicitors really are genuine specialists – our 5 strong team deals with nothing but lease extension, right to manage and enfranchisement work. And we help somewhere in the region of 500 people every year extending their lease or buying the freehold – all the way from single flat lease extensions to the freehold purchase of large blocks

• We are members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners – the only nationwide organisation of enfranchisement specialists

• Don’t worry that our team is not local to you – we deal with almost all lease extension and enfranchisement work remotely – taking instructions from clients all over England and Wales by phone, email and Zoom video

• We can handle your enfranchisement from beginning to end – from obtaining the initial valuation, and serving the Enfranchisement Notice, to helping you with formation of your freehold purchase company and registering you as a new owners with HM Land Registry – and even taking your case to the First Tier Property Tribunal in the unlikely event it becomes necessary

• If you own a leasehold house, it’s also possible to compel your freeholder to sell the freehold
Click here to find more about how to buy the freehold of your leasehold house

BUT DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

Here’s what Tom Jefferies, a specialist Leasehold Barrister from Landmark Chambershas to say about Jenny Slater, the head of our leasehold team:

“I would happily recommend Jennifer Slater for all types of leasehold enfranchisement. She has the knowledge and experience you would normally only find at a specialist London firm.”

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE BENEFITS OF ENFRANCHISEMENT

Collective or leasehold enfranchisement [as the process of joining together with some or all of your fellow leaseholders to jointly buy the freehold of your block] will increase the value of your flat or apartment and potentially provide you with much greater control over maintenance and service charges for the block.

And you may be surprised to find that, the price you need to pay to your freeholder for a 90-year lease extension may not be that much more than your share of buying the freehold of your block of flats.

What’s more, with slightly bigger blocks, where there are therefore more leaseholders sharing those costs, you may even find that the legal and valuation costs for each leaseholder is actually less than you would pay for an individual leasehold extension – because although the overall legal and valuation bill may be higher, it’s going to be divided between all those participating in the enfranchisement.

So, subject to the issues raised below, you may find that it’s far more attractive to buy your share of the freehold rather than simply extending your lease by a further 90 years.

LEASEHOLD ENFRANCHISEMENT IN MANCHESTER? CONTACT US TODAY

So if you own a flat or apartment in Manchester, and you’re interested in buying the freehold (or just extending the lease):

• Call us today on 0800 1404544 or
• Email us using our contact form for FREE initial advice and a FREE quote.

Birmingham has a population of over 1.1 million people [according to 2018 figures from Birmingham City Council itself]. So, as Britain’s second city, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that there are a huge number of flats in Birmingham, many of which are owned under a long leasehold [i.e. a lease originally granted for at least 21 years] rather than rented from say the local authority or a housing association. In fact according to the 2011 Census, Birmingham had 86,595 purpose built flats – and that’s before you consider consider the tens of thousands of houses that have been converted into flats and the thousands of new builds.

But owning a leasehold flat isn’t like owning a freehold house. You don’t have complete control over your block.. Instead, you have to pay service charges and ground rent to your freeholder – and year by year your lease gets gradually shorter. So when it expires, you end up owning precisely nothing.

Do You Own an Apartment in Birmingham? Are You Interested in Buying The Freehold Of Your Block? For Expert FREE Initial Phone Advice, Call Us On FREEPHONE 0800 1404544

THE ANSWER? FREEHOLD PURCHASE

One way of avoiding these problems with a leasehold property is to join together with some of the other flat owners to buy the freehold of your block – through a process known as leasehold enfranchisement (often referred to as ‘freehold purchase’ or ‘collective enfranchisement’).

If you live in Birmingham and are thinking of buying your freehold, you’re going to need a specialist solicitor – the specialist enfranchisement team here at Bonallack & Bishop can help.

You can also buy the freehold of your leasehold house.
Click here to find more about leasehold house enfranchisement

LEASE ENFRANCHISEMENT – WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

• Your flat will increase in value – and will become easier to sell

• You take over management of your block

• Block maintenance will probably become cheaper, as you organise it yourself

• You don’t have to put up with a difficult landlord

• You can extend your lease up to 999 years

• No more ground rent to pay

• Greater security – as a freeholder, normally only failure to meet your mortgage could cause eviction

WHY A SPECIALIST ENFRANCHISEMENT SOLICITOR IS SO IMPORTANT

You may wonder why any solicitor couldn’t handle your lease enfranchisement. After all, how difficult can it be?

Lease enfranchisement is, in fact, a particularly complicated area of law with tight rules, strict deadlines and a number of traps for the unwary. It is an area of law that very few property solicitors will ever have dealt with – and therefore are unlikely to have sufficient understanding of the issues surrounding enfranchisement.

Given that your freeholder is highly likely to instruct a specialist lease enfranchisement solicitor of their own, you do not want to start on an uneven footing – especially when large financial sums are at stake.

OUR COLLECTIVE ENFRANCHISEMENT EXPERTS

Finding an expert lease enfranchisement solicitor is difficult – the vast majority of property solicitors deal with regular conveyancing of flats and houses, with landlord and tenant issues or deal with commercial property. But not freehold purchase.

In contrast;

• We have a team of five who specialise in nothing but lease extension, right to manage company formation and lease enfranchisement.

• We are the only solicitors are recommended for freehold purchase by the Homeowners Alliance, the largest organisation representing Britain’s homeowners.

 • Our team liaise with specialist enfranchisement and lease extension surveyors every single day – so, if you wish, as part of our one-stop shop service, we cannot only introduce you to a specialist local surveyor, we can also instruct them on your behalf.

• We are members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) – the only group of specialist enfranchisement surveyors and solicitors nationwide.

 • We can handle your enfranchisement from beginning to end – from obtaining the initial valuation, and serving the Enfranchisement Notice, to helping you with formation of your freehold purchase company and registering you as a new owners with HM Land Registry – and even taking your case to the First Tier Property Tribunal in the unlikely event it becomes necessary

 • Our dedicated team have helped thousands of clients with successful freehold purchase and lease extension cases over the last 25 years

THE IMPORTANCE OF BUYING YOUR FREEHOLD WITH AT LEAST 80 YEARS LEFT ON THE LEASE

Leaseholders seeking the right to buying the freehold of their block should be aware that it is more expensive once a lease has less than 80 years to run (the same applies if you’re thinking of extending your lease). Sometimes much more expensive.

Why? That’s because where the lease has less than 80 years left on it, your freeholder has the right to charge an additional premium – which is known as the “marriage value”. (The marriage value is valued at half the difference between the property value before and after the leaseholders have exercised their freehold right to bu)y.

In practical terms for most flats, this means each individual leaseholder may have to pay thousands more to participate in the freehold purchase. And that figure only increases as the lease term steadily drops.

Marriage value also applies to lease extension – so if you’re considering the alternative of extending your lease – try to do so before that critical 80 year period.

N.B. There is no marriage value if the unexpired portion of the lease has more than 80 years to run

GETTING OTHER LEASEHOLDERS INVOLVED IN BUYING THE FREEHOLD

If your leasehold enfranchisement is going to be successful, you are going to need the support of at least 50% of leaseholders of the block of flats.

And getting half of all the leaseholders to commit, and remain committed, can be a tricky job with medium and larger sized blocks.

However, the good news is that the freehold purchase process can be started with less than 50% of leaseholders, provided the 50% quota is eventually reached. This is an important point to bear in mind. Often leaseholders will be reluctant to get involved with the collective enfranchisement until they are sure it will go through. This “chicken and egg” situation needs tackling at the early stages of freehold purchase.

One of the best ways of getting people committed to the project is by getting them signed up to what is known as “a participation agreement” – a legally binding contract setting out the details of the planned enfranchisement and who will be involved.

Our specialist team can help you draft a participation agreement that suits your particular circumstances.
Click here to read more about participation agreements.

THINKING OF ENFRANCHISEMENT IN BIRMINGHAM? CONTACT US TODAY

Due to the specialist nature of our service, we represent leaseholders and freeholders alike throughout England and Wales – with the vast majority of our enfranchisement cases being run by phone, email or video call.

For FREE no strings attached initial advice and a FREE enfranchisement quote

• Call our team free on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or

• Fill in the email enquiry form below

Solicitors Specialising in Freehold Purchase For Clients Nationwide

Statutory Freehold enfranchisement – the legal process where 50% or more of the leaseholders in a  block of flats get together to buy their block’s freehold from the landlord – often seems like an interminable process with a never-ending list of forms to complete and regulations to adhere to.

It’s certainly true that the rules and paperwork can be daunting, but there is a strict regulatory framework with deadlines governing the whole process. These deadlines are designed to allow leaseholders to get the process completed within a reasonable period of time, while still allowing the freeholder time to manage their side of the process.

Need Expert Enfranchisement Advice? Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE Initial Phone Advice.

Freehold Enfranchisement – the difference between the informal and statutory process.

Just like extending your lease, when you come to buy the freehold of your block with some of your fellow leaseholders, you have two options.

1. An informal or voluntary enfranchisement

2. The formal or statutory enfranchisement process

There are a number of differences between the two. In short,

• provided you get the process right and your block is eligible for enfranchisement, then buying the freehold is your legal right. In general terms the freeholder simply cannot stop you.

• in contrast there is no formality to the voluntary route. no timetable, and no set procedure. You simply negotiate and agree terms with your freeholder. And the main disadvantage is that in using this process, you have absolutely no way of forcing your freeholder to complete the sale. Your freeholder is completely free to drop out at any stage, which is why we would strongly advise against any informal enfranchisement.

• one disadvantage of the formal route is that it does mean you need to strictly comply with the rigid the timetable and complicated procedure. Making a simple mistake can mean your application fails and have to start from the beginning again which can cause considerable delay and significantly increase costs. remember with the formal route you will have to pay not only your own legal and valuation costs but also the reasonable and legal valuation costs of your freeholder.

That’s why it’s so important getting a specialist solicitor with plenty of relevant experience to handle your statutory enfranchisement claim.

NB there are also strict guidelines when you use the formal statutory process to buy the freehold of a leasehold house

Enfranchisement – the Need for Specialist Solicitors

As you will see below, implications of missing a deadline when it comes to formal enfranchisement can prove very expensive indeed. That’s right really important that you get a solicitor who really understands freehold purchase. Few property solicitors regularly deal with lease extensions – and far fewer ever come across enfranchisement.

However if you instructed leasehold team here at Bonallack and Bishop you can rest assured that you have experts with plenty of relevant experience covering your back. We will make sure that you meet all of the deadlines and that the correct paperwork is served in the right way, at the right time.

And to prove it, we are the only solicitors nationwide recommended by the HomeOwners Alliance (the leading organisation representing Britain’s 17 million homeowners) for legal advice on any aspect of lease extension, right to manage or freehold purchase.

What starts the statutory enfranchisement process?

The 1st stage is the issue of what is known as the enfranchisement notice. Getting this right is essential. Getting wrong is likely to mean you will need to abandon the application and start again from scratch – wasting time and legal costs.
Click here to read more about the enfranchisement notice

Statutory Freehold Enfranchisement – Deadlines Affect Everyone

The legal deadlines apply to both sides in the collective enfranchisement. If the leaseholders miss a deadline when going through the freehold purchase process then the whole process will be declared abandoned by default, or the freeholder can ask the County Court to declare the process invalid.

If the freeholder is the one who misses the deadline then it is possible that the collective enfranchisement can be forced through at the original offer price, which gives the landlord no opportunity to negotiate or make a counter offer. given that most original offer prices tend to be on the lower side – to encourage negotiation, if the freeholder misses the deadline it can prove very expensive indeed.

What Happens When the Parties Can’t Agree on a Price

If the freeholder does respond to the initial Enfranchisement Notice and starts to negotiate on price, but then the negotiations over the freehold price reaches stalemate, then the case can then be referred to an official body called the First-Tier Tribunal Property Chamber ( which was previously called the LVT or Leasehold Valuation Tribunal). This option is only open during a strict four month period which starts two months from the date the Counter Notice is issued, and ends six months after it is issued. Outside of this period the case cannot be referred to the Tribunal and the whole freehold purchase may fail.

Statutory Freehold Enfranchisement – failure to serve a counter notice

After the Enfranchisement Notice is served, the freeholder has a period of two months to come back with a Counter Notice. If this doesn’t happen, then they are deemed to have accepted the initial offer. If this happens, the leaseholders who are asking for collective enfranchisement can go ahead and legally purchase their freehold at whatever price they first offered. It is for this reason that freeholders have to stick to the deadlines and get their responses submitted in time – they face financial losses if they don’t.

The deadlines are there to ensure that the freehold purchase goes through as smoothly as possible, and to provide protection for both side. They also give people time to complete the tasks which need to be completed. All of these deadlines should be made clear by the start and you should make sure to stick to them if you don’t want to run the risk of ending up in the County Court to hear your freehold enfranchisement has been declared abandoned.

Looking at Statutory Freehold Enfranchisement ? Call Our Specialists

Exercising your Right to Enfranchise involves a really difficult of law  – so it’s critical that you get the right expert advice. Wherever your block is situated in England Wales, our specialist team can help.

Want to know more about how to buy your freehold? For a FREE initial phone consultation from a specialist Freehold Enfranchisement Solicitor

• Call us today on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or
• email us using our contact form for FREE initial advice and a FREE quote.

Collective enfranchisement can be a long and drawn-out process, particularly if problems are encountered along the way. In life, different circumstances can crop up and mean that sometimes things have to take an about-turn. There may well be a situation in which you are wholeheartedly going along with an enfranchisement effort and a life event gets in the way which means that you have to sell your leasehold flat before the process is complete. These can cause some problems, but not ones which are unsurmountable.

Looking for Specialist Enfranchisement Advice? Call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE Initial Phone Advice.

First stop – the participation agreement

A well-run freehold purchase project  will begin with a Participation Agreement, which obliges each participant to pay for their share of the freehold once the process is complete – and furthermore, that if they wish to sell their flat before the process is complete, that  must be to a buyer who agrees to take his or her place in the process of collective enfranchisement. Leasehold enfranchisement in itself doesn’t stop somebody from selling their flat, so long as there is a contingency plan in place, such as the one described above, in case the situation should arise.

This need not cause a problem, though. Indeed, the vast majority of prospective buyers will consider the flat to be far more attractive than another leasehold flat purely because they will get a share of the freehold and a 999-year lease at the end of the project, which they otherwise might not have had they bought another leasehold flat. So long as the Participation Agreement binds the residents to only sell to a buyer who contractually agrees to take their place in the collective enfranchisement process, it should cause no major headaches for those involved.

Click here to read more about Participation Agreements

The importance of the project manager

The project manager or organiser should ensure that they are put in direct contact with the buyer in order to ensure that they are privy to the same information and communication that the original resident was, and this should be done long before the sale of the flat is complete.

Once the sale of the flat has gone through, there’s very little the project manager or organiser can do if the new resident claims to know nothing about or not be interested in collective enfranchisement.

Having them sign the Participation Agreement or a contract engaging themselves in the process should they be the new owners of the flat will protect the whole process and ensure there are no hiccups along the way.

Enfranchisement and selling your flat – the need for specialist solicitor

To ensure the project isn’t derailed by the sale of a flat during the process, legal advice should be obtained and the services of a specialist solicitor with plenty of experience of enfranchisement should be sought. This will provide peace of mind to the other residents who are participating in buying the freehold of your block as well as ensuring that the terms of the Participation Agreement are kept to, with the new buyer actively engaging in the purchase of the freehold as the previous resident did.

Having this added legal protection is something which can prove hugely valuable, particularly if the new resident opts not to play ball after all.

Keep talking

Once again, communication is the key and conveying accurate information to all residents — as well as potential new residents — is of the utmost importance.

An experienced enfranchisement solicitor will be able to deal with the paperwork as well as ensuring that the correct legal advice is given to all the parties involved, making the chances of something going wrong much lower and protecting everybody involved with the collective enfranchisement effort.

As always, careful planning and organisation can forestall many problems before they even crop up and ensure that the project is completed smoothly and without any unexpected and unforeseen issues which might arise.

Problems with selling your flat while enfranchisement takes place? We can help

Our team of enfranchisement and lease extension specialists work closely with our property dispute litigators – so if you’re having a problem with buying your freehold or extending your lease, and think that it might require a Property Tribunal application, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And don’t forget we offer FREE initial phone advice.

Collective enfranchisement involves a really difficult of law  – so it’s so important that you get the right specialist advice. Wherever your block is situated in England and Wales, our expert team of lawyers can help. Enfranchisement and lease extensions is all they do.

Want to know more about how to buy your freehold? For a FREE initial phone consultation from a genuine specialist in Enfranchisement

• Call us today on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or
• email us using our contact form for FREE initial advice and a FREE quote.

Specialist Lease Extension and Leasehold Enfranchisement Lawyers

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gave leasehold owners of flats two important new rights. The first allows a majority of tenants to join together to buy the freehold, exercising the right to collective enfranchisement. The second allows an individual tenant the right to a new lease, for a term 90 years longer than the existing one at a peppercorn rent. In order to decide which route to follow a tenant will first have to assess whether they qualify for a collective claim and, if a collective claim is a possibility, will then need to decide whether the advantages of purchasing your freehold outweigh the benefits of a 90 year leasehold extension.

Looking for Specialist Lease Extension or Leasehold Enfranchisement Lawyers? Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE Initial Phone Advice

Tenants who are faced with the question of whether to enfranchise or seek a lease extension need to consider what their main objectives are. If they are suffering from bad management, unsubstantiated service charges and their leases are significantly longer than the statutory limit of 80 years then a collective Leasehold Enfranchisement claim will be of most benefit provided that they have an organised residents association.

On the other hand, if the leases are short or are about to reach the 80 year limit and they reside in a well managed block with numerous non-resident tenants a lease extension may be the better solution. In addition, with a collective claim, time can be an issue. If there are a significant number of tenants, it can take weeks or even months for them all to agree and sign up to the necessary documentation and to pay towards a fighting fund. In contrast, a single lease extension claim can sometimes be signed within a few days of a valuation being obtained –  if your freeholder is cooperative.

Leasehold enfranchisement following lease extension

It is also important to remember that these 2 options are not mutually exclusive.

It is possible for a tenant to extend a lease one year and then enter into a collective claim a few years later. The tenant’s extended lease will only serve to reduce the premium payable for the freehold.

Finally, tenants should also be aware that if the cost of the freehold is a problem it is possible to opt for forming a Right to Manage Company as a low cost solution to gaining control over the way that a building is run. And exercising your right to manage can be carried out alongside a lease extension.

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SOLICITORS SPECIALISING IN FREEHOLD PURCHASE

Collective Enfranchisement –  the Pros:

Generally, buying the freehold [also known or leasehold or collective enfranchisement] of a residential building collectively delivers the best result for tenants – because it results in full ownership and control of the building.

Tenants who acquire the freehold can grant 999 year leases and also take over the management of the building. Although tenants now have a statutory right to take over the management of the building they tend to prefer a collective claim because, as stated above, it also gives them the right to grant long leases to themselves at no extra premium, significantly enhancing the value of their flat.

Collective Enfranchisement –  the Cons:

When buying the freehold, leaseholders should be aware that taking over the management of a large block can be onerous. Even though day-to-day management matters can be contracted out to managing agents, as freeholders, the tenants are responsible for insurance, repairs, redecoration and such issues. Pursuing neighbours for arrears of service charges or ground rent, or dealing with complaints about unauthorised alterations or noise nuisance is not an easy task.

The cost of buying the freehold involved in lease enfranchisement could also be high if there are a number of short leases and few participating tenants.

The collective claim

The freehold purchase of a building as a group of tenants is a complex project that requires much organisation and should not be entered into lightly. It is important to form a coherent group headed up by a few enthusiastic residents who can build consensus amongst the participants, and sustain momentum over a long period of time.

Once this group has been formed, it is strongly advisable to instruct a solicitor to i mplement the technical procedure required and an enfranchisement surveyor to advise on the likely freehold value. These professionals will wish to deal only with the residents appointed representatives, who can maintain a line of communication with their fellow residents.

And with medium or larger blocks, it’s well worth considering a participation agreement. A participation agreement is a binding legal contract that locks in all of those leaseholders who have agreed to join the collective enfranchisement process.

Our team regularly draft these legal agreements – click here to read more about participation agreements

Looking for Specialist Collective Enfranchisement Lawyers? Contact us today

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