subject: I am a leaseholder of a flat - I can't contact my block's freeholder [print this page] I am a leaseholder of a flat - I can't contact my block's freeholder
The first issue to bear in mind is that the law with you. The second thing is, if one have tried every feasible way to contact the freeholder, there is more often than not a way that the system allows one to acquire the outcome that you desire, be that a lease extension, freehold acquisition or Right to Manage (RTM).
Perhaps the freehold is owned by an individual and they may perhaps have expired. Then again they may have moved and not informed the Land Registry of their recent address, as is their obligation. Another option is that you have not been offered the "right of first refusal" in the event that a freehold title was sold. This is prohibited and for eighteen months one retain the right to throw out the sale or purchase it yourself.
If your landlord tells flat owners they sold the freehold to someone else, despite the fact that the original landlord's particulars are on the Title, then lawfully they are still the landlord. It is their lawful obligation to make certain the documentation is updated.
One of the reasons one may possibly be struggling to get hold of the freeholder is that the business possibly will have ceased to trade, gone into bankruptcy, entered administration or even been struck off by Companies House.
Flat owners might have found that the assets of the freehold company - if the freehold was held by a company - might have passed to the Crown. The Treasury Solicitor will subsequently virtually certainly be happy to sell the freehold to one and your neighbours at the open market price, in other words the total for which a freeholder could sell the freehold at an auction. The ultimate value would be down to one to negotiate.
If the business is in receivership or administration flat owners can serve the notice on the administrator or official receiver. If bankruptcy applies then there will be a trustee upon which to serve the necessary notice or for you to contact.
If your best efforts throw up a blank and one and fellow lessees cannot find the freeholder - a situation known as an absent landlord' or absentee landlord' - then one can consider obtaining a Vesting Order through a County Court.
First you should get a legally acceptable valuation of the freehold. One ought to use an experienced and credible surveyor with a specialism in Leasehold Enfranchisement. One might find issues with another type of surveyor and you can find a good, vetted and experience local valuer via the surveyor search on the internet site of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP).
When you have the Vesting Order, you can after that apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) for them to ascertain the charge to flat owners to acquire the freehold. The procedure is proscribed in Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform and Urban Development Act for freehold acquisition or Section 50 for lease extensions. Flat owners should be able to purchase the freehold a good deal cheaper than if you COULD find your freeholder, because the LVT will take into account you offer' price. Because there is no counter bid, as long as your opening offer is acceptable, flat owners can pay the relevant County Court the agreed total and begin the process of purchasing your freehold. The cash after that goes to the freeholder in the event that they turn up.
One can ask a solicitor, surveyor or intermediary to undertake the detective work for flat owners. Be careful to draw on those with track records - their professional body is the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners. There is significant leg work and one will save a lot of cash doing it yourself. However, there are numerous pitfalls to negotiate so you will need patience and perseverance.
