Mark Chick

So you want to buy the freehold to your building, but the landlord has gone missing – what can you do? There are a number of possibilities. They may have died – in which case there may be executors who can deal on behalf of their estate. It may be there is an intestacy (where there is no will), but even so, there may be personal representatives who can act in this case. INSOLVENCY ISSUES The freeholder may be insolvent – in which case, there may be an administrator at the liquidator (if it is a company) y

Serving notices has always been a tricky business. The emphasis on getting it right is ultimately a balancing act between what ‘black letter’ compliance might demand and that which the reasonable layperson might expect common sense commerciality to dictate. This case is interesting, as it really does seem to push the envelope of how wrong you can get it, but still get it right. That is not to say that it is proposition for the suggestion that all and any faults in a notice can be forgiven, but it does sho

The subject of ground rent has now become a point of political interest and you may have seen some of the recent interest in this area. Who would have thought that ground rents would make it to the front page of the Times? Following on from Sajid Javid’s announcement that the government is going to look in more detail on the question of ground rent and leasehold houses and particularly banning the creation of ground rent for new leasehold houses, the whole question of ground rents more generally looks set

This is the question that was asked at the ALEP Commonhold Lecture held in February this year. The outcome of the Government consultation on ‘Tackling Unfair Practices In The Leasehold Market’ states that the Government ‘wants to look at ways to re-invigorate Commonhold’.    This article looks at the background to Commonhold and what it is and considers why to date it has not been successful and looks briefly at the areas that may need to be addressed if it is to be made workable.   Background    The Comm

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has reviewed the Law Commission’s consultation paper ‘Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease’ published on 20th September.    Mark Chick, ALEP Director, and Partner and Bishop & Sewell commented:  “Leasehold enfranchisement has been in the spotlight now for many months, and with the furore surrounding this issue it is crucial that leaseholders are well informed and educated. ALEP welcomes the oppor

The Upper Tribunal has handed tenants an important victory concerning ‘common parts’ including roof spaces and airspace leases in leasehold enfranchisement.  The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that a lease of the airspace above, and the subsoil below a leasehold block of flats must be classed as "common parts" of the building when deciding if they were to be acquired, in a decision that could potentially have a profound impact on the property sector.   For the full reference see LM Homes (a

The Government’s recent reform of the leasehold system has understandably focussed on ground rents, with new legislation introduced in June 2022 through the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act having effectively put an end to ground rents for most new long residential leases. However, widespread problems with service charges also need to be urgently addressed if the Government is to fulfil its pledge to make the system fairer for leaseholders. Leaseholders across the country routinely engage in battles ove

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook’s November 2024 statement makes a further promise to reform the law of forfeiture as it affects residential leases. We know from the passage of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (‘LAFRA’) (and the amendments tabled by Mr Pennycook when he was in opposition during the reading of the Act in the House of Lords) that this is something about which he feels passionately. However, the suggestion of reform of the law in this area is nothing new - indeed, the Law Commiss

And how will it change property ownership for the owners and purchasers of leasehold properties? On Monday 3 March, the government published a Commonhold White Paper and announced plans to bring the sale of new leasehold flats to an end. 

The qualifying criteria opens up new opportunities for leaseholders but presents challenges too says Mark Chick, director of ALEP and a Partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP

Matthew Pennycook recently announced proposals to reinvigorate commonhold to make it the default tenure and a Commonhold white paper was published by the government shortly afterwards. The intention is that new leasehold flats will be banned as the government takes steps to ensure commonhold becomes the default tenure.