Legal matters in freehold purchase

Laws are of no use to people unless they know their rights and know how to invoke these rights effectively.

One area that is receiving an increasing amount of interest from tenants is that of leasehold enfranchisement as it is this right as accorded by law that allows them to come together and purchase the freehold on their block of flats. Freehold purchase may not be the most scintillating topic in the world, but it has the power to radically change how people live and so it's worth knowing a bit about its history.

There are several key legal landmarks in this area, but the issue dates all the way back to the Middle Ages when UK property law began to come about, albeit in a less formal manner than it exists in today. This is the origin of leaseholding and freeholding in which the leaseholders buy the right to live in the property whilst the freeholder retains the financial interest of owning the building.

In modern day one of the most prominant changes has been brought in by the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. Leasehold enfranchisement was born from this Act as it gave leaseholders within flats the right to collectively purchase the freehold or as individuals the right to extend the lease by up to 90 years. This had the effect of improving the image of purchasing flats with short leases as tenants always had the right to extend that lease if they wished.

Further on, the largest reform came in the shape of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, this furthered the rights of tenants living in flats to be able to collectively purchase the freehold. This has led to tenants having the ability to join together, providing they meet certain criteria with regards to numbers participating and the length of their remaining leases, to put forward proposals to their landlords to buy them out of the freehold. The process generally takes around 6 months but it can be more complicated if the landlord rejects the tenants' bid on the grounds of it being invalid, and if the claims of the deal can't be agreed upon, it can end up at a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The Tribunals are used as a result of the Housing Act 2004.


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Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack and Bishop, a firm of experienced
leasehold enfranchisement
lawyers, specialising in
freehold purchase
advice. He is responsible for all major decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. Tim has expanded the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for its continued development.