Landlords Beware
Landlords beware; commercial leaseholders may get round restrictions in their lease to achieve residential use which brings the potential right to forcibly acquire the freehold (enfranchisement).
Ashley Wilson Solicitors has been practicing residential property law in London for over 30 years and brings an unrivalled level of knowledge and expertise to all aspects of residential conveyancing. Whether buying, selling or remortgaging, our comprehensive service caters for all aspects of residential property law.
As specialists in property law, our teams of expert conveyancing solicitors act on behalf of both UK residents and international clients alike. Our capabilities enable us to act for high net worth individuals involved in luxury residential market purchases, sales of a full range of London residential properties or the intricacies of dealing with leasehold or freehold properties; dealing with one apartment, a block of flats or a full property portfolio. A full service is offered incorporating:
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A normal residential conveyancing transaction will take 6-8 weeks, please refer to the above buyer guide for an overview of the conveyancing process. With our wealth of expertise we regularly act for HNI and developers in matters where contracts must be exchanged within a few days or weeks. Our specialist solicitors are well placed to facilitate an expedited transaction where your individual circumstances allow. Please contact us using the below form for a bespoke quote.
Residential coveyancing and other leaseholder's rights often require a detailed knowledge of lease extension i.e. freehold acquisition (enfranchisement) and the right to manage and to deal with issues around short leases, management and live freehold collective claims that can often crop up.
As members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP), Ashley Wilson Solicitors are experts in lease extension & collective enfranchisement – compelling your freeholder to extend your lease or sell the freehold of your property to you, the Leaseholder.
The flat sale can often involve assigning the benefit of a claim. You will benefit from our experience working with valuers to understand the premium payable and how the right in their regard is to be apportioned.
Ashley Wilson Solicitors are members of The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) which provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices. This accreditation provides recognition of our training, adherence to good practice, management standards and commitment to providing efficient and high-quality conveyancing procedures throughout the conveyancing process. We have professional obligations under the scheme and for further information please see: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/accredited-specialists/conveyancing/
We are also committed to adopting the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which has enhanced our conveyancing service further ensuring even higher standards of client care, speed and efficiency when acting for you.
We act for most major UK lenders, banks and mortgage companies to ensure a seamless service whenever possible and act on behalf of both UK residents and international clients across the globe.
We are regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales under registration number: 510618
Landlords beware; commercial leaseholders may get round restrictions in their lease to achieve residential use which brings the potential right to forcibly acquire the freehold (enfranchisement).
The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) came into force on 28 June 2022. It created new financial protections around the cost of remediation of historical safety defects for leaseholders of buildings at or above 11 metres or five storeys with historical safety defects.
While flat owners who benefit from this protection will welcome this unfortunately there are problems around the conveyancing process as it adjusts to the effect of the complex new rules which may adversely affect the sales process and the Government overlooked the effect of the legislation on flat owners extending their leases.
In this second article in our series of three we look at what it means for residential leaseholders and their landlords following the Government’s confirmation that it will enact the remaining Law Commission recommendations around enfranchisement rights (leaseholders rights to extend their lease or acquire the freehold to their house or block of flats).
The Law Commission’s recommendations are set out in its report “Leasehold Home Ownership: Buying Your Freehold or Extending Your Lease”. The stated intention of the recommendations was to “help make our homes our own rather than someone else’s asset. They are intended to make the law work better for leaseholders”. Their report was described as a root and branch review of enfranchisement rights.