Lease Extensions & Enfranchisement

Leasehold Enfranchisement and ALEP

Leasehold enfranchisement includes the processes of lease extension, freehold acquisition and the correction of management within leasehold properties.

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) exists to ensure that practitioners involved in this sector adhere to an agreed level of conduct and service.

Membership of this professional association is a badge of assurance to leaseholders and freeholders that they can be sure of a consistently high level of service, integrity and professionalism.

Crane & Staples are members of ALEP, please ask for Bonnie Twiggs for more information and assistance.

Lease Extension

A leasehold flat or house is a valuable asset, however as the term of the lease diminishes, so does the value of that asset. A decreasing lease term can cause difficulties for the residential leaseholder when wishing to mortgage or sell the property.

Legislation has been in place for a number of years to provide leaseholders with the statutory right to extend their lease. This is a complex and time critical procedure with many pitfalls.

We can assist with the process of extending the lease of your property either via the statutory route (from initial service of notices through to Tribunal applications), or, by an informal procedure, with the co-operation of the landlord.

We also act for landlords and managing agents assisting with the statutory procedure initiated by the leaseholder, or alternatively, setting up a scheme by which leases can be extended which is mutually beneficial to both the landlord and leaseholder.

Acquiring the Freehold

In some cases, it may be beneficial for a leaseholder of a house, or leaseholders of a block of flats to acquire the freehold of their properties in order to gain greater control over matters such as management and repair.

There are a number of statutes covering this area of the law and it is a very complex area.

We can assist in the following situations:

• Acquiring the freehold of an individual house
• Acting for leaseholders joining together to serve notice on a landlord to acquire the freehold of a block of flats
• Acting for leaseholders following the receipt of notice from the landlord wishing to dispose of the freehold
• Acting for a landlord upon receipt of notices from the leaseholders or serving notices upon the leaseholders to dispose of the freehold
• Mutually agreed transactions outside the scope of the legislation</li

We work closely with local and more widespread surveyors also specialising in this complex area of the law to ensure that a complete service can be provided for you.