The Freehold Right To Buy – am I eligible?
To Buy Your Freehold (also known as Collective or Leasehold Enfranchisement) you must satisfy the following requirements to be a ‘qualifying leaseholder’:
- The original lease must have been at least 21 years long; and
- It must be residential (as distinct from a commercial lease)
Additionally your building must satisfy the following conditions:
- There must be at least 2 flats within the freehold;
- No more than 25% of the building must be used for non-residential purposes;
- At least 2/3 of the flats must be let to qualifying leaseholders (see above); and
- At least 50% of the flat owners must participate in the Enfranchisement
Want to know more about your Freehold Right To Buy? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE Initial Phone Advice – no strings attached.
Do I really need a specialist solicitor?
Don’t undertake the freehold purchase process lightly. Even groups with enthusiastic leaseholders can make mistakes, and freeholders with strong legal teams can exploit this. In order to make sure that your chances of a successful enfranchisement are as high as possible, it is vital that you get advice from a solicitor who has lots of knowledge about the collective enfranchisement process.
There are over 140,000 qualified solicitors in England in Wales – but only a few, like our team of experts – routinely carry out collective enfranchisement work. Our highly specialist 5 strong leasehold team deal with nothing but lease extension, right to manage and enfranchisement work and is possibly the largest, most specialist team in the country.
Freehold Purchase Solicitors – why use our team?
• We are experts – Lease enfranchisement is not something most solicitors across often, if at all. And what’s worse, the law surrounding enfranchisement is complicated and time limits are strictly enforced. Our highly specialist 5 strong leasehold team deal with nothing but lease extension, right to manage and enfranchisement work and is possibly the largest, most specialist team in the country.
• Our team has the experience you need – over the years we have helped around 10,000 people extend their leases or buy their freeholds throughout England and Wales
• We provide FREE initial enfranchisement advice on the phone
• Instructing us is a one-stop shop – our specialists can put you in touch with a surveyor local to you who really understands how lease enfranchisement from our informal nationwide panel –
• We are there with expert advice right from the initial valuation – and in the unlikely event that we can’t get agreement from your freeholder, all the way to the First-Tier Property Tribunal.
How long does it take to Buy a Freehold?
The Purchase of a Freehold with no complications can take as little as 3-4 months. However the timescale can increase depending on how long the freeholder takes to respond to the notice, whether your freeholder agrees to sell the freehold and whether you need to create a company nominee purchaser (see below).
Click here to read more about the Freehold Purchase Section 13 Notice
The transaction is also likely to take longer if there are long periods of negotiation, disagreements between the participating tenants and especially if you are forced to apply it to the First-Tier tribunal – Property Chamber (Residential Property) [ previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal] to get your freeholder to sell.
If I sell my flat, do I have to sell my share of the freehold?
Yes – if you sell you flat then you automatically sell your freehold interest as well. You can however rent out your flat (subject to any mortgage restrictions) and still keep your share of the freehold.
Is it worth getting together to exercise a Freehold Right to Buy?
Yes. Getting together to exercise your Freehold Right to Buy means that as a group you take control of the building and its management.
You can then, if you choose, take on responsibility for managing your building and, in addition, you can lease your flat back to yourself on favourable terms without needing to pay any ground rent.
How much will exercising my Freehold Right to Buy cost?
The cost of your freehold purchase involves the following:
- Your own legal costs and disbursements;
- Your surveyor’s fee in carrying out a valuation of the price of the freehold and in any negotiation of the premium;
- Your freeholder’s reasonable legal and valuation costs (if you do not agree that such costs are reasonable then you are able to apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal);
- The price payable for the freehold; this is the aggregate sum of:
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- The income received from the ground rent during the remainder of the term; and
- The reversionary value of the freehold on expiry of the leases (when a lease expires the flat effectively reverts back into the freehold); and
- The marriage value. This is the increase in the value of the flat after acquiring the freehold (effectively classed as ‘marrying’ the leasehold and freehold interests.
- The value of any other interest; e.g commercial property if the building has any commercial unit(s); and
- Any other compensation; e.g. the reduction in value of any other neighbouring property owned by the freeholder where he will be unable to develop the site due to the freehold sale, or the loss of opportunity to build on the roof of a block of flats.
What responsibilities do I get if I Purchase the Freehold?
Essentially, in Buying the Freehold you become the new freeholder or freeholders (if collective) for the building.
Therefore you become responsible for the day-to-day management and running of the property. This involves collecting service charges, doing any maintenance, paying out for large building works and insuring the property i.e all of the actions and services that the out-going freeholder was responsible for carrying out under the terms of the lease and statute.
Don’t Forget Outbuildings and Garages during the Freehold Purchase Process
The freehold purchase process isn’t always straightforward, especially if you enter into it unprepared. There are a lot of different things to bear in mind when the initial Enfranchisement Notice offer is made.
And 1 of the most common mistakes made is in relation to garages, gardens and other areas surrounding the property. A block of flats is more than just the building containing the flats themselves, and the other areas are also part of the freehold and should be taken into consideration when making an offer to buy the freehold through collective enfranchisement.
Can my freeholder sell the freehold without offering it to me 1st?
In short, no the Right of First Refusal – if your freeholder is looking to sell up. this means that they have to offer to sell the freehold to you and your fellow leaseholders before looking to sell to 1/3 party.
Click here to read about the Selling a Freehold and the Right of First Refusal
What happens if the freeholder is absent when I serve my freehold right to buy notice?
If your freeholder is an individual and cannot be found, then a purchase notice cannot be served on him/her. Instead you will have to apply to the County Court for what is known as a Vesting Order – under which the Court orders the First-Tier Property Tribunal [ previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT] to value your property.
After receiving the valuation, if the Court is satisfied that the participating leaseholders and the properly are eligible and meet the criteria, it can effectively sell the freehold interest to the tenants or tenants on the freeholder’s behalf.
However if the freeholder is a company which has ceased trading, the property may now belong to the Crown. Enquiries must be made to the Treasury Solicitor who has the authority to sell the freehold at market value.
Alternatively, if the freeholder company has gone into liquidation, then the tenant can serve the purchase notice on the Trustee in Bankruptcy instead of the freeholder.
What is a nominee purchaser?
A nominee purchaser is someone who, in a joint Freehold Purchase, puts their name on the notice to the freeholder. This person then becomes responsible both for exercising the freehold right to buy and for the subsequent management of the building. There are no laws governing how the nominee purchaser is selected.
As a result, when exercising their right to buy their freehold, it’s common for a group of tenants to create a company to use as a nominee purchaser. The tenants usually become shareholders and/or directors of the company.
It’s vital however that such a company is created before the notice is served upon the freeholder.
Our freehold purchase company – will standard Articles of Association do?
Every limited company must have articles of association – documents which set out the rules the officers of the company must follow, and regulate the rights of shareholders. They are very important documents, especially when there is no written shareholders’ agreement.
Often however when the leaseholders get together to buy the freehold of the block, getting the right articles of association comes way down the list of priorities. As a result, such companies sometimes end up with template or default articles – standard articles which contain none of the specifics related to freehold companies.
Without the right articles in place, serious and costly problems can crop up at a later date.
Properly drafted company articles, designed for the management of your particular block, are therefore really important – and comparatively cheap.
Our team can help you with he sure that you have the right articles of association for your particular circumstances.
Our Articles of Association – what issues should they cover?
Some of the key things to consider are:
• Will the new freehold company be allowed to collect service charges and ground rent from leaseholders or tenants?
• Will it manage and administer communal areas, provide services and look after car parks?
• Will the company insure the property, or will it build up cash reserves to carry out maintenance by getting contributions from its members?
• What is the process for selecting and removing the company directors?
• Should non-leaseholders be barred from serving as directors or members?
• Will members be able to force directors to follow a certain course of action?
• Will there be limits concerning when a member is allowed to vote, for example when they are in debt to the company?
• What is the process for transferring shares to new leaseholders?
• Is there provision for the transfer of shares to a new leaseholder without the need for consent of all the other leaseholders first?
• What is the process for dealing with disputes?
• Should an alternative resolution process be considered before litigation?
Irrespective of whether the freehold management company already exists or is just being set up, the most effective way of avoiding problems in the future is to make sure everyone involved is fully aware of the contents of the articles of association and that they meet the requirements of the property. If they are found to be lacking, take action to change them immediately.
Who should be the directors of our Freehold Purchase Company?
The participating leaseholders are the shareholders of the company, and normally, all will have equal shares in the company and therefore a voice in running the company. These directors do not have a greater shareholding in the company. They just manage the company along with the day-to-day running of the block for the shareholders.
As with any company, a director or board of directors will need to be elected. This person (or people) will be accountable to the shareholders and be responsible for the finances of the company.
The number of directors will vary depending on the size of the company. For example, a small residential management company (with only a few shareholders) can function well with each shareholder being a director.
For larger companies, it is common for the shareholders to get together and elect an entire board of directors. This is usually done at an Annual General Meeting and reviewed each year.
Your block management company needs to have its own bank account and thorough financial records need to be kept.
Then, each year, the company must register their accounts and complete an annual return at Companies House. If you don’t know anything about running a company, you should speak to an expert solicitor to guide you through the process.
Therefore it’s important that the directors include people who have both the time to assist in managing the block (especially if it’s a big block) and the organisational and administrative skills to do so.
Can anyone extend their lease during the Enfranchisement Process
No. It’s therefore very important that not only are participating leaseholders aware of this, but also those leaseholders who choose not to get involved in the collective enfranchisement process need to know that they won’t be able to extend their lease while the purchase of the freehold is going through.
The prohibition lasts from date of service of the originating Enfranchisement Notice and ends when the freehold is transferred to the new company. This can take a year or more.
Click here to read more about the process of buying your freehold
Thinking of exercising your Freehold Right To Buy? Call us today
It’s so important to get good legal advice when it comes to Freehold Purchase.
Wherever you live, we can help you. Our team are genuine specialists – freehold purchase and lease extension is all they do.
Contact us today for a FREE first phone advice;
- Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544
- Or use the contact form below