Purchasing the freehold from the council
A leaseholder has the right to purchase the freehold of the building if they meet certain qualifying criteria. This is called ‘Collective Enfranchisement’.
In order to purchase the Freehold Title from the Council, you and the neighbours will need to meet the following requirements:
- At least two-thirds of the property is sold to leaseholders and two thirds want to buy the enfranchisement.
- You will need to agree with each other how you want to hold the freehold and jointly make an application to purchase.
- The leaseholders who are interested in purchasing the freehold have to comply with the residency test.
Once these requirements are met the next steps are:
- To serve a legal Section 13 Notice under Housing and Urban Development 1993 Act. You can ask your solicitor to send us a formal application for enfranchisement.
- Please note: a valuation will be carried out by an independent Chartered Surveyor on each individual flat in the block after a Section 13 notice is received.
How much will it cost?
You will need to pay for the following:
- Freehold valuation
- Your solicitor’s fee
- Council’s legal fee
- Council’s administration fee
- Council’s valuer fee
The Councils’ legal, administration and valuer fee are approximately between £2,500 -£3,000 (subject to change, please request an estimate at the time of your application).
We would strongly advise you to a take specialist advice on the best option for your particular circumstances.
You can obtain further information from the Leasehold Advisory Service.