Leasehold Enfranchisement

Expert leasehold enfranchisement solicitors

Leasehold enfranchisement covers a collection of rights available to tenants of leasehold properties including flats, apartments and houses. Our leasehold enfranchisement services include:

• Lease extensions – We advise tenants on making statutory lease extension claims under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. We also act for landlords with lease extensions claims against them. Use our lease extension calculator to get an estimate of how much it could cost.
• Freehold purchase for leasehold houses – If you own a leasehold house, the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 may give you the right to buy the freehold and own the property outright. We act for house owners bringing these claims and for landlords receiving them.
• Collective enfranchisement – We advise groups of tenants that wish to join together to buy the freehold of their property. Collective enfranchisement was set out in the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993
• Right of first refusal – Where a landlord proposes to sell part or all of a property that contains individual flats, we advise tenants on their right to first refusal (RFR). RFR is provided by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987
• Right to manage – The right to manage (RTM) gives tenants more control over the maintenance and repairs of their property without the need to pay a premium to the landlord. RTM was introduced through the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
• Leasehold disputes – Where negotiations break down, our leasehold dispute solicitors represent tenants and landlords in tribunal and court proceedings.

What is leasehold enfranchisement?

If you own a leasehold flat, you and the other leaseholders in your building may have the right to buy its freehold together. This is called collective enfranchisement and it comes from the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Three conditions must be met before you can start a claim.

The building must qualify. It must be a self-contained building, or a self-contained part of one that is divided vertically from the rest and could be redeveloped independently. It must contain at least two flats held by qualifying leaseholders. The internal floor area of any non-residential parts, taken together, must not exceed 25% of the internal floor area of the building as a whole. Common parts are left out of that calculation, which often decides whether a mixed-use block qualifies.

Enough of the flats must be held by qualifying leaseholders. At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held by qualifying leaseholders. To be a qualifying leaseholder, your lease must originally have been granted for a term of more than 21 years. If you hold three or more flats in the same building, you are not a qualifying leaseholder of any of them.

Enough leaseholders must join the claim. Qualifying leaseholders of at least half of the total number of flats in the building must join in giving the initial notice. This is half of all the flats, not half of the qualifying leaseholders. It is a stricter test than it first appears and it catches people out.

The 25% limit may rise to 50% under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which would bring many more mixed-use buildings within the right. That change is not yet in force. The equivalent limit for the right to manage did rise to 50% in March 2025.

What is marriage value and will I have to pay it?

Marriage value is the increase in your flat’s value created by extending the lease. The law treats that gain as something to be shared with your freeholder, and at present your freeholder is entitled to half of it.

It only bites once your lease drops below a certain length. Where the unexpired term is more than 80 years, marriage value is treated as nil. Where the unexpired term is 80 years or less, marriage value is added to the premium and your freeholder takes 50%.

This is why the 80-year mark matters so much. A lease with 81 years left and a lease with 79 years left look similar on paper. The cost of extending them is not.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 abolishes marriage value. That change is not yet in force. It cannot take effect until the government sets new valuation rates in secondary legislation, and the consultation on those rates opened in July 2026. Until it happens, marriage value is payable on every extension of a lease of 80 years or less.

If your lease is close to 80 years, we would recommend you to take advice now rather than waiting.

How does the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 affect my claim?

The Act became law in 2024, but it is being brought into force in stages. Some of it already applies. Much of it does not. That distinction matters, because your claim is judged on the law in force on the day you serve your notice.

What already applies

• The two-year ownership rule has gone. Since 31 January 2025 you no longer need to have owned your flat for two years before claiming a lease extension or the freehold. You can start once you are the registered owner of the flat.
• The right to manage now reaches more buildings. From 3 March 2025 the non-residential limit for right to manage claims rose from 25% to 50%. Many mixed-use blocks that were previously shut out now qualify.
• Right to manage costs have changed. In most cases leaseholders are no longer liable for the freeholder’s costs of the claim, apart from limited situations such as a tribunal costs order or a claim withdrawn after the company acted unreasonably.

What has not been brought into force yet

• The 50% non-residential limit for buying your freehold. The equivalent change for collective enfranchisement has not been commenced. For freehold purchase the limit is still 25%.
• Abolition of marriage value. Still awaiting the valuation rates. Marriage value remains payable.
• 990-year lease extensions. The Act replaces the current extension length with 990 years. Until that is commenced, a statutory extension adds 90 years to your existing term at a peppercorn rent.

If you are deciding whether to act now or wait, the honest answer is that it depends on your lease length and your building. Please contact us to discuss further.

Do I need advice from leasehold enfranchisement solicitors?

The valuation process is rather complex and depends on a host of factors and should be carried out by a specialist valuer. Once you have your valuation your lawyer will prepare a form of notice for service on your landlord which will get the process underway. What follows entails the receipt of counter-notices and thereafter negotiation and agreement of terms, all of which have prescribed deadlines. For this reason, it is a good idea to find professionals who are experienced in this area of work, starting with a specialist solicitor and a valuation surveyor. They will work for you to ensure you get the best terms possible.

How long will the leasehold enfranchisement process take?

It depends on which right you are exercising and the speed of your freeholder and their co-operation with the terms of the Act.

Buying your freehold as a group. Collective enfranchisement usually takes six to twelve months. The statutory timetable sets the pace:

• Before anything is served, you need a valuation from a specialist surveyor and a participation agreement between the leaseholders joining the claim. Allow one to three months.
• Your initial notice under section 13 of the 1993 Act starts the formal process. It must give your freeholder a deadline of at least two months to reply with a counter-notice.
• If the counter-notice accepts your right but disputes the price or the terms, you cannot apply to the First-tier Tribunal until two months have passed since that counter-notice, and you must apply within six months of it.
• If your freeholder does not serve a counter-notice, you can apply to the court for an order transferring the freehold on your terms. That application must be made within six months of the date the counter-notice was due.
• Once the terms are settled, the transfer is completed and the freehold passes to yourselves or your nominated company.

Where the price is agreed by negotiation, six to nine months is realistic. Where valuation is fought and a tribunal hearing is needed, expect twelve to eighteen months or longer.

Extending your lease. A statutory lease extension under the 1993 Act runs on a similar timetable and takes around six to twelve months. A voluntary extension, agreed directly with your freeholder outside the Act, has no statutory deadlines at all although the freeholder may set a deadline. Completion will depend on the speed of the freeholder and their representatives – this could be very quick or progress can be slow. The statutory route looks slower on paper however it is far more certain in practice, because statutory deadlines can be relied upon. You can estimate your premium with our lease extension calculator, and our lease extension solicitors will tell you which route suits your position.

Taking over management. The right to manage is the quickest of the three. There is no premium to negotiate and no valuation to argue about, so claims typically complete within four to six months.

Deadlines in this process are strict. If your initial notice is withdrawn or treated as withdrawn, you cannot serve another notice on the same building for twelve months. That delay can cost you far more than the claim itself if leases are running down. It is the main reason to have a solicitor running the timetable from the start.

Why choose Osbornes Law?

The leasehold enfranchisement process and legislation can be long and complex. Our lawyers are experts in both. We also have much experience in negotiating with freeholders and their lawyers to achieve the best possible terms for our clients. We are also used to working with specialist surveyors and are happy to make recommendations to our clients.

Osbornes Law is proud to be a founding member of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners and is also an approved lawyer of News on the Block, a leading leaseholder information service.

If you would like to discuss collective enfranchisement in London or further afield further please call us and ask for Guy Osborn or Amber Krishnan-Bird.