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If your block has recently enfranchised and acquired the freehold you can now determine who manages your block. If you choose to self manage you will still need the necessary time, skills, experience and knowledge to undertake the management yourself. You will also need a degree of patience in dealing with letters, phone calls and visits from leaseholders.The regulations themselves may seem onerous and may indeed cost leaseholders money to implement. They are however there to protect you and the occupants

Anthony John, who now leads the property team at Bournemouth solicitors Horsey Lightly Fynn, has been dealing with leasehold enfranchisement since 1967. Anthony trained with a South Wales law firm that specialised in acting for the National Coal Board dealing with sales of freeholds of former coal miners' cottages under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 - the first piece of legislation allowing tenants of houses to buy their freeholds or to extend their leases. This was subsequently broadened to include flats

There will always be those who question why they should bother enfranchising.  This article provides some reasons why you should become involved. The common reasons for enfranchisement are:- Declining lease length; The leaseholders wish to change management; Service charge demands are high or unreasonable. To prevent the speculative development; To correct a lease defect; For elderly leaseholders, to put their affairs in order. It is not unusual in enfranchisement cases for‚ 

Many of you may have gone through the past six months or more engaged in notice requirements, disputes over valuations, setting up your company in order to acquire your freehold and now you have finally completed.  Alternatively you might  have exercised your right to manage. Whichever you have undertaken, you will have found out how much work is required to reach your goal.  The good news is you can now take control of matters concerning the freehold and the management of your block. I aim to set out bel

I regularly deal  with leasehold flat owners who are individually enfranchising by buying a lease extension for their flat. In doing so, they often enquire about collectively enfranchising by joining with fellow flat owners to buy the freehold and I am often asked to advise on the competing merits of individual and collective enfranchisements. An Individual Claim The major advantage of an individual lease extension over a collective freehold purchase is speed and independence.  The statutory procedure

The Management Company The majority of decisions made by residents in blocks of flats are made by their own management companies. Management companies are private limited companies. They represent the collective needs of the individual flat owners – who will have acquired a pro-rata shareholding or membership in the management company on the purchase of their flat. The Directors All the affairs of the company are conducted by its directors. Every private company must have at least onedirector and it

You might wonder ‘what exactly is ‘enfranchisement?’ In the dictionary, you will find the‚  accepted meanings relating to the right to vote, or do to with the representation in Parliament. The historic meaning of the word relates to ‘freedom’ in the sense of setting free a medieval slave. Modern long leaseholders are not exactly feudal tenants, but such words have sometimes been used. ‘Enfranchisement’ in the legal sense relates to the right of residential long leaseholders either to extend their lease

Collective enfranchisement and lease extension applications can be costly, both in terms of premium and advisers’ fees. Accepting the cheapest quotation can sometimes backfire. A good negotiator may cost more but could save you thousands of pounds.Choosing Your Adviser The correct choice is essential. You need to be sure the surveyor or the solicitor chosen is proficient in managing a claim and able to demonstrate knowledge and experience. This could be reduced to two crucial factors: A solicitor: shoul

Leasehold DisputesA guide to Leasehold Valuation Tribunals Francis Davey, 169 Temple Chambers and Justin Bates, Arden Chambers (pb 978 1 903307 62 5) 376pp £30 This is a practical, accessible guide for anyone likely to find themselves before, or considering making an application to, a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT).It also aims to equip leaseholders and their advisers with the necessary information on their rights, and the obligations of landlords, to resolve issues without resort to the t‚ºribunal sy

Mover of the month - John Barter joins Tremorfa John Barter joins the Managed Services division within the Tremorfa Group as Strategic Development Manager. Tremorfa has its HQs in St Mellons, Cardiff and has offices strategically placed around the UK and Ireland providing all Building Management Services in the private and public environment. John is a graduate of the University of East Anglia where in 2002 he obtained a Masters in Business Administration. Having worked in the fire and security industr

THE SPEED and extent of the drop in World’s economies has been something extraordinary. Very few could keep pace with the collapses and catastrophes - let alone forsee them. The constant proclamation from Gordon Brown that he had got rid of boom and bust defied credulity. But for all the macro excitement the real world of day to day activities go on. It is essential now more than ever that the block manager and the flat manager earns their fees. Being a veteran of two previous recessions, quite frankly

Enfranchisement is an area which is a minefield for all practitioners, be it solicitors or surveyors. As practitioners in this field, we acknowledge the pitfalls in the area of enfranchisement and the fact that the same errors are still being made by some professionals who are simply not up to date with the case law. There have been many articles dealing with the pitfalls associated with enfranchisement and issues regarding the validity of notices. A large proportion of the points taken on the validity