Enfranchisement and Lease Extension

TWM Solicitors has a dedicated enfranchisement and lease extension team of lawyers with the specialist knowledge and experience required to handle the acquisition and disposal of Freeholds, Lease Extensions and Right to Manage claims, and other issues concerning leasehold flats and houses.

For historic legal reasons, the ownership of individual flats is governed by long leases created out of the freehold. The obligations between the flat owners (the Leaseholders) in relation to the building are generally enforceable through or by the freehold owner of the building, rather than by individual Leaseholders against each other.

The freehold may be owned by someone who does not live in the building and his interests may come into conflict with the interests of the Leaseholders. The Freeholder may not carry out his obligations to the Leaseholders in a way which suits them, and this can be a source of tension between the Freeholder and the flat owners.

Leaseholders may find that their leases are reducing in length to the point where they need to consider extending them. There are good reasons why a flat owner with a lease having around 80 years remaining should consider taking action to ensure that the lease of their flat is extended without delay.

The guidance in these pages deals with:

• Collective Enfranchisement – how Leaseholders can compulsorily acquire their freehold

• Individual Lease Extension – how individuals can extend the lease of their flats

• Right of First Refusal – the Freeholder’s obligation to offer the freehold to Leaseholders

The Enfranchisement Team undertakes a wide variety of work in this specialist area, dealing with large blocks of flats through to smaller flat conversions, principally in London and across the South East.

Our clients include substantial investment companies holding portfolios of freehold reversions, residents associations and individual flat owners.

These pages aim to provide you with initial guidance in this technical area of the law which has ever increasing relevance to day to day issues affecting owners of flats, whether they be the landlord or the tenant.