Issues Associated With Lease Enfranchisement - By: Tim Bishop

Enfranchisement or leasehold extensions often come hand in hand with procedural issues which can hold up the whole process. These issues can arise irrelevant of how careful you and your lawyer are during the process. We will take a look at some of the more common problems so that you can prepare yourself for them to come up during your enfranchisement.

One of the biggest issues you are likely to come up against when seeking to exercise your right to enfranchise, or the right to purchase your freehold, is the current freeholder or landlord disputing your claim to buy. This often occurs when the landlord either believes you do not have a proper claim, there has been some sort of coercion going on, or if they do not wish to sell the freehold at all. The freeholder can also refuse to sell you the freehold if they need the property for their family or if they are intending to demolish or remodel the property, in which case you may be eligible for compensation. If they refuse for any other reason, however, you can apply for a court order to force them to sell you and your fellow tenants the freehold.

These cases can often end up in a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal which is a quasi-judicial body whom specifically deals with leasehold enfranchisement issues. This means that they have been given power by government legislation to make decisions that would otherwise be made by the courts. The issues relating to lease enfranchisement that they can rule on include:

- The amount that the freehold should sell the interest for.

- Who is liable for the costs associated with the purchase.

- Rule in disagreements over the selling or buying of a freehold.

In most cases the LVT are used where a decision has not been reached by the local or County Court, therefore there will often be a large amount of evidence available already and the LVT assessors will look at your original claim and what counter-notice your landlord provided you with. The person whom is the claimant before the County Court will become the applicant before the LVT.

Most cases referred to the LVT will be subject to a hearing, where oral and written evidence must be provided in all but the most straightforward cases. A decision will generally be made within 6 weeks of the hearing and the decision of the LVT is binding on all parties related to a particular lease enfranchisement case.

About the Author

Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of lease enfranchisement solicitors specialised in advising on the right to enfranchise. Tim is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. He 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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