Should freehold be offered to leaseholder first

marie43read

hi everyone,
It's only taken me an hour to work out how to post a thread (what's worrying is that I have posted one before!)
Anyway I have lived in a leasehold ground floor flat for 15 years - the chap upstairs has lived there for about 12.
Freeholder lived 100's of miles away and the 'Managing Agent' also lived in the same area as the the freeholder.The only contact was the £25 Ground rent being sent to the agent yearly.
About 5 years ago we received a letter saying the 'Managing Agent' had now moved to our local area and we now send the yearly cheques to them (same company name).
The chap who lives next door recently asked for contact number for Agent/ Freeholder to get permission for an extension. During the conversation he had with the agent, the agent mentioned he's bought the Freehold of our flat as part of a 'job lot' a few years ago. Shouldn't me and the chap upstairs been offered the Freehold first.
Would really appreciate a bit of signposting regarding my next move

Arkad

If its just you and the guy upstairs and you both want to buy the lease and the property is 75% residential and you have a long lease (20 years plus, I think), you should be able to buy the lease. I don't think a landlord has to offer it to you first if he wants to sell.

Phone the Leasehold Advisory Service on 020 73745380. They should be able to give you better advice than me

Ian_W

My understanding is that currently you should be offered the freehold before it's offered to anyone else and it can't be sold to another party for less than it's offered to you at. That might not have been the case a "few years ago" though.
The leasehold advisory service [independent, but govt funded] is a good steer from Arkad - their website is:
https://www.lease-advice.org

EDIT to add:
From that site:
Right of first refusal: where the landlord proposes to sell his interest in the building, he must offer it to the leaseholders first or he can be prosecuted (except for housing associations and local authority landlords).

Arkad

It would be useful if you could post back with a definitive answer when you know, marie43read, if only to curb my curiosity.

EDIT: Cheers, Ian

Doozergirl

I'm just going to back up what Ian said. Yes, a freeholder must offer the freehold to the leaseholders first, and at a fair price. Without specific signature from the leaseholders saying that they are not prepared to buy the freehold, the freeholder can be prosecuted.

I'd definately follow this up with a call to the Leasehold Advisory Service - you might get yourself a discounted freehold!

marie43read

Thanks for the helpful replies. Speaking to the LAS first will give me the cofidence to challenge the so called 'managing Agent' if necessary.
Arkard - it will be a pleasure to let you know the result.
Thanks again

marie43read

:T Just to let you know that I telephoned the LEA who were extremely helpful. They gave me the number of the Land Registry Headquarters (LRH)and advised me to ask for the Local District Office so that I could request a copy of the freehold registration.
The lady at LRH was very helpful and was able to tell me over the phone (bless her) that the freeholder has not changed since 1981. This has put my mind at rest.
Thanks for your signposting, I wouldn't have known where to start and will keep their numbers for future reference. :beer:

Doozergirl

Glad to hear everything is okay!

sooz

glad everything is ok too, but if you are interested in ever buying the freehold, do make sure that the other owner/s in the building are aware of this. Because, under the right of first refusal, the departing freeholder only has to inform 'x'-1 tenants, if there are less than 10 flats in the building, so you could find out that someone else has refused on your behalf, and you knew nothing about it (esp in the case when there are only 2 flats)....as i have found out to my cost...:mad:

Ian_W

Shucks, marie, no cheap freehold!! :mad:

Arkad

Glad you're feeling better about it. Thanks for keeping us informed. :beer: