Can I force the freeholder to sell share of freehold?

dericS

Hello,

I own a leasehold flat which has around 65 years remaining on the lease. The flat is part of a 1930's property which was converted into TWO flats several decades ago. The owner of the second flat is also the freeholder of the entire building. I would like to buy a share of the freehold because the present freeholder is currently making decisions about our properties which benefit her only. I have owned my flat for 9 years. Can I force the freeholder to sell me my share of the freehold?

It seems there are several qualifying criteria which must be met before one is entitled to purchase the share of freehold. I think my building qualifies as it is divided into two flats and there are two qualifying tenants each holding a lease longer than 21 years (although the second tenant is also the freeholder). Some advice I have read states that because I am only 1 of 2 flats I will not be able to compel the freehold to sell. This seems very discriminatory. In ever other case, the qualifying criteria seems to state that at least 50% of the tenants must participate, except if it is a 2 flat household then both tenants must participate. Is this true? Any advice you can provide would be very much appreciated as I am desperate to obtain some control of the building I have bought into and enforce the freeholder to play by the rules (my lease - sadly - gives ALL control over the freeholder and I have no teeth to fight anything). I was a stupid uninformed FTB and now am paying the price for my ignorance. Any guidance / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Lord_Baltimore

Try >this< for starters .

Btw, as your lease is below the magic 80 year threshold, it will be more expensive to buy your freehold.

dericS

Thank you Lord Baltimore for your response. I am still very confused! I have taken a closer look at the link you supplied (thanks!) and here are the salient points:

In order to qualify one must meet the following criteria:
You need a long lease .

A long lease is considered to be one longer than 21 years. It can't be a commercial lease.
Your building must qualify

The building must contain at least two flats, and at least two thirds must be leasehold, ie, not owned by the freeholder. At least 75% must be used for residential, not business, purposes. A flat-owner can't own more than two flats in the building and still take part.

Finally, if the freeholder lives in the building (or an adult member of their family has lived there for the last 12 months) and they lived there before it was converted into flats, you've no right to buy the freehold.
Certain properties are excluded

It's a no-go if it's a charitable housing trust, National Trust, crown or cathedral precinct property.

The bit in red is what I am querying. It is saying there must be atleast two flats (check!) and at least two thirds must be leasehold. Well both flats are leasehold flats, but the freeholder owns the lease on the second flat (as well as the freehold of the entire building). Does this mean I fail to meet the second criteria?? It seems as clear as mud to me.

Thanks again for your time on this!

Lord_Baltimore

On the face of it, it doesn't look promising. That said, the legal change has been toward favouring the leaseholder who wants to buy the freehold. The presence of the freeholder in the building may thwart this though. I would take legal advice in case there's a loophole that can be exploited.

I assume the freeholder doesn't want to sell a share voluntarily? Good luck.

500pages

Hi dericS, I'm no expert - so take salt and all that - and agree that it is less than crystal clear. Having said that, the answer is there - you've indicated it yourself:

LEASE (the advisory service) states that if: "the same person has owned the freehold since before the conversion of the building into flats; and he or an adult member of his family has lived there for the past 12 months", there is no automatic right to collective enfranchisement (i.e. the leaseholders buying the freehold).

So given your particular circumstances, you can probably negotiate, hope they're planning to sell up, or renew your lease but there's no right to buy the freehold.

I guess some people maybe take the very (high) risk that at some point the freeholder moves out for a 12 month period or more and then you can start the ball rolling. But of course that's very very high risk - you could end up with tens of thousands of pounds more on the cost of the lease extension if you wait another ten years.

If there's any issue with the cash to pay for the extension, it's worth bearing in mind that lenders will often allow additional borrowing for extensions given that it secures the asset.

LEASE are very helpful, give them a ring if you want to talk to an expert for free.