Purchasing freehold section 42 notice

moneyuser

Hi

Has anyone bought a property and had the benefit of the section 42 notice assigned to them so they can purchase the freehold instead of waiting 2 years? I'm trying to get an understanding of the process but not getting much joy from the solicitors.

Main questions are;

1. Who can grant the benefit to me? Is it just the seller or does the freeholder/landlord also have to give permission?
2. Is the section 42 served before exchange or between exchange and completion?
3. Were you charged extra by your solicitor for getting the notice assigned to you, or did you pay the sellers solicitors cost for serving the notice?

I've got an appointment with the leasehold advisory service but it isn't until Friday and hoping to get some answers before then.

Thanks.

anselld

AFAIK s42 is a notice to extend the Lease. It does not relate to purchase of the Freehold.

G_M

anselld wrote: »

AFAIK s42 is a notice to extend the Lease. It does not relate to purchase of the Freehold.

Correct.

Buying the freehold would be dependant on the freeholder wishing to sell, or on a joint purchase by at least 50% of the qualifying leaseholders in the building:

http://www.lease-advice.org/advice/fact-sheets/collective-enfranchisement-buying-the-freehold-of-your-building-fact-sheet/

moneyuser

Thanks

So it would be a tenants notice that would need to be served on the landlord rather than section 42. The questions still stand; does the seller need permission from landlord to assign benefit of notice to a purchaser and how is this done? Is it just a form included in the contract saying the benefit is being passed?

Leaseylawyer

Hi

The current owner should serve notice in between exchange and completion. The sale contract will stipulate the terms but usually you will accept all responsibility for costs etc and the seller should be under a duty to pass on correspondence received before completion/not to negotiate without your permission etc.

On completion, the transfer document (or a separate deed of assignment) will then need to expressly assign the benefit of the notice to you. This will need to be completed on the same day as your purchase to be effective.

If seller serves notice before exchange that makes no odds to you, but as service sets off your liability to pay the freeholders costs, the seller would be wise to wait until exchange.

Freeholder does not need to consent to the assignment.

Hope that helps!

moneyuser

Thanks leasey

Bit concerning the sellers solicitor is saying they need to get permission from freeholder/landlord to assign it :huh:

G_M

From your posts, I asume you are in the process of buying a leasehold property yes?

Has a S13 Notice to purchase the freehold been served on the freeholder?

If yes, there is no '2 year period', the process has already begun. Get the details of the other leaseholders involved, and the solicitor acting for them, and inform them you are the new owner and wish to join them as a 'qualifying tenant'.

If no, there is no issue. Since there is no '2 year period', you simply to need to make contact with the other leaseholders and decide between you if you meet the requirements as a group, and wish to proceed.

Have you read the link?

moneyuser

Hi G_M

Sorry, should've mentioned it's a leasehold house. I don't think the link you provided would apply in this case. I have been reading
http://www.lease-advice.org/article/buying-the-freehold-of-a-leasehold-house-the-procedure/
http://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/houses-qualification-and-valuation/
http://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/leasehold-houses-valuation-for-enfranchisement/

No notice has been served yet as the seller solicitor is insisting that permission is required from the freeholder/landlord to assign the benefit to me. The links don't include anything that says permission is required from freeholder/landlord.

G_M

moneyuser wrote: »

No notice has been served yet as the seller solicitor is insisting that permission is required from the freeholder/landlord to assign the benefit to me. The links don't include anything that says permission is required from freeholder/landlord.

You now seem to be talking about assigning the (existing) lease to you. There is usually a requirement for a buyer to inform the freeholder that this has happened.

That has nothing to do with purchasing the freehold. The links don't mention permission from the freeholder as there is nothing to assign! As repeatedly explained, there is no '2 year' period required.

I suspect you are confused about the conveyancing process or somehing.

Can I suggest you go in to see your solicitor, sit down and get him to explain in full face to face

moneyuser

G_M wrote: »

You now seem to be talking about assigning the (existing) lease to you. There is usually a requirement for a buyer to inform the freeholder that this has happened.

That has nothing to do with purchasing the freehold. The links don't mention permission from the freeholder as there is nothing to assign! As repeatedly explained, there is no '2 year' period required.

No, I'm talking about getting the tenant notice assigned to me. As described in the links I posted, this is required to start the formal process of purchasing the freehold. The seller has to do this as you have to have owned the property for at least 2 years for it to be valid. This notice can be assigned to a prospective buyer so they can continue the process after completion. Otherwise I would have to wait 2 years as the new property owner to meet the qualification criteria as described out in the links above.

G_M wrote: »

I suspect you are confused about the conveyancing process or somehing.

The only thing I'm confused about is whether the freeholder/landlord needs to give permission to the seller to assign the notice to me. My solicitor says no they don't, the sellers solicitor (who has to serve the notice) says yes they do. My solicitor can't tell the other how to do their job, what am I supposed to do.

From searching the forum I know there are others that have gone through this process and was hoping to get someone tell me their experience or hear from someone in the legal profession.

Leaseylawyer

Hi

Sorry I went on holiday and just thought I'd check back - I am a Solicitor specialising in this sort of work. As you are purchasing the freehold of a house you'll need to serve a notice pursuant to the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. This is a pretty complex procedure with a lot of pitfalls so I'd recommend you get a specialist involved as plainly the buyers solicitor does not know how it works.

To reiterate, the freeholder does not need to consent to the assignment of the benefit of the notice to you.