Buy Your Freehold
Take Control Of Your Service Charge Bills By Buying The Freehold Of Your Building
Buying your freehold is a big step, but it can bring you big rewards:
- Make your flat more attractive to purchasers by extending your lease to 999 years
- Gain more control over the management of your building
- Put an end to the delay and cost of seeking the freeholder’s consent to carry out alterations to your flat.
How Newman Webb can help you buy your freehold
On your behalf, Newman Webb brings to bear an expert knowledge of the law, expert valuation advice, excellent negotiations skills and extensive experience working in this field. We guide you through the process as quickly and easily as possible, minimizing your costs and achieving a satisfactory agreement for you.
We provide valuation advice on the purchase price and advice on the offer price. We also deal with any resulting negotiations. In the event that both sides cannot come to an agreement on the purchase price and the matter is referred to the Tribunal, we will attend the hearing on your behalf.
Buying your freehold:
Do You Qualify?
The Leasehold Reform, Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 gives residential long leaseholders the right to buy the freehold of their building (collective enfranchisement), so long as their properties, and the building they are part of, satisfy a number of conditions:
- At least 75% of the building is in residential use,
- The building is self-contained and consists of at least two flats,
- At least half the building’s flat owners must agree to buy the freehold. Where there are only two flats, both must agree.
- At least two thirds of the flats are let to qualifying tenants; with a few exceptions, this means anyone whose tenancy period has exceeded 21 years.
Once the criteria for freehold purchase has been established, tenants usually form a company to purchase the freehold interest and sign a participation agreement before notice is served on the freeholder.
