Establishing Your Rights to Manage Your Property
When a landlord is planning to sell the freehold of a building which contains residential flats, he or she must, before entering into a contract with the purchaser, give the leaseholders/tenants of those flats the opportunity to purchase the building on the same terms as the proposed purchase. He must serve a notice on each of the leaseholders/tenants, who are then given a period to consider whether to take up their right of first refusal. Failure to serve the notice, and/or selling prior to its expiry, is a criminal offence.
Obviously, if you are a landlord it is crucial that you take advice on this and make sure you fulfill your obligations. This is where Housing and Property Law Partnership (HPLP) can help.
Do I have the right of first refusal?
In order for the right of first refusal to apply:
- The building in question must contain at least two flats.
- No more than 50% of the building may be in non-residential use.
- More than half of the flats in the building must be held by 'qualifying tenants.'
- The right may not arise if the landlord himself or herself lives in the building.
Why Choose HPLP?
We are recognised experts in this complex and technical area of law. There are many statutory deadlines and dates to follow and missing any one of them means you may lose your right to sell or buy the freehold. We act for tenants and landlords and we are fully up to date with the intricacies of this law and can help tenants and landlords.
HPLP also offers clients free initial advice up to a half-hour and a fixed fee estimate so you know what you will be charged should you choose to go ahead.
To find out if it might be suitable to buy the freehold of your block of flats, or if you are a landlord who needs help on how to comply with statutory requirements, contact our firm to schedule a consultation with Ash Oberoi or Shamin Kashem to discuss your situation in greater detail.
