Buy the freehold from the council
A leaseholder has the right to buy the freehold title of the building from the council. This is called ‘Collective enfranchisement’. To buy the freehold from the council you will need to meet some requirements:
- At least two-thirds of the property is sold to leaseholders. Two thirds must want to buy the enfranchisement.
- You will need to agree with each other how you want to hold the freehold. You must make a joint application to buy.
- Leaseholders must pass the residency test.
Once these requirements are met the next steps will be:
- 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.
- to get an independent chartered surveyor to do a valuation. This will need to be done on each flat in the block after a Section 13 notice is received.
How much will it cost to buy the freehold?
When buying the freehold from the council, you will need to pay for the following:
- freehold valuation
- your solicitor’s fee
- our legal fee
- our administration fee
- our valuer fees.
Our legal, administration and valuer’s fees are approximately £2,500 to £3,000. This is subject to change, please ask for an estimate at the time of your application.
We recommend you get advice from a specialist. They can help you choose the best option for you.
For more details, see our Leasehold advisory service.