Enfranchisement: Some of the Initial Procedures - By: Tim Bishop

If you are thinking about starting a collective enfranchisement procedure then the first thing you must do is make sure that all the tenants involved get together, agree upon their commitment to the process and check out their eligibility. Many leaseholders make the common mistake of thinking that the initial notice should be served first, contrary to its name numerous steps are taken before it is served.

Once agreement has been reached that all the lessees want to get involved, it is always a good idea to get a participation agreement drawn up, so that you all know what is being proposed and the terms on which you will proceed are agreed.

You should also seek to instruct both a specialist surveyor and a specialist solicitor. The collective enfranchisement procedure can be quite complicated. Enfranchisement is not something that is done routinely by most solicitors or surveyors and as such you really need to have expert advice from specialist who really know what they're doing. This specialist knowledge from the solicitor and surveyor is crucial. You may have to pay more for this level of expertise but in the end it will definitely be worth it, simply because you will be able to seek advice on the price that you may have to pay and to detail this within our Initial Notice. This may help you save time seen as the whole process of purchasing the freehold can be long!

Establishing a Right to Enfranchise Company (often referred to as an RTE Company).

There is no requirement to set up an RTE Company as part of the process of collective enfranchisement, but it can certainly help and if the company is limited by guarantee, then it ensures the process will be financially stable.

Although this may seem obvious, the next step in the process of collective enfranchisement is to sort out who is the freeholder. It is important to find out exactly who owns the freehold and who any outstanding rental monies are owed to. This can easily be done through contacting the Land Registry.

At this point within the process of collective enfranchisement, the information and legal framework should be clear enough to enable the Initial Notice to be drawn up by the specialist solicitor and the correct legal framework be adhered to, thus ensuring that the whole procedure of collective enfranchisement runs as smoothly as possible and the freehold purchase is completed in no time at all!

About the Author

Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, collective enfranchisement solicitors specialised in advising on freehold purchase. He is responsible for all major strategic 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.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Tim-Bishop/62652

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