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Selling or Transferring your Freehold
If you decide to sell, develop or ‘deal’ with your building containing residential flats, you need to be sure you aren’t caught out by legislation designed to protect the existing leasehold flat owners.
If you own the freehold or superior lease of a residential or mixed use block, it is essential to check whether your tenants have the ‘right of first refusal’ under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
“Thank you for your diligence and ready accessibility; we really appreciated that.” MA
The Right of First Refusal – why is this important?
The Right of First Refusal may require you to offer the terms of your proposed ‘dealing’ to the leaseholders before you proceed. If you fail to do this, the leaseholders can potentially force the unravelling of the transaction to enable them to take the benefit of it. You could even be found guilty of a criminal offence.
What is a ‘dealing’?
The right of first refusal applies to a sale of the freehold. However, it is vital to remember that it also applies to many other transactions, including:
- a sale of a headlease which is superior to the flat leases; and
- the grant of certain other leases, such as a lease to a developer to construct a new penthouse storey.
The good news is that complying with the obligations to offer the terms to the leaseholders is not too onerous, but it usually leads to a delay while the leaseholders are given time to decide whether or not to accept the offer.
“Your ability to steer us through this minefield was truly impressive. Thank you.” GT
Does the right of first refusal apply to all buildings?
No, the right of first refusal applies to buildings with residential use and some mixed use buildings. It is necessary to assess each building.