The Association of Leasehold Practitioners (ALEP), the not-for-profit association of property barristers, solicitors, agents and valuers, wrote to the Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC MP this week, to seek a three-month extension once the current lockdown is over to applications to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The extension would cover applications to determine terms of collective claims, lease extensions and right to manage.
The letter from ALEP acknowledges the tribunal’s guidance that new applications can be served by email, and fees paid by cheque or postal order within 28 days, and asks the government ‘to consider a further measure in these unprecedented times’.
It states: ‘This simple act will provide applicants with a reasonable period of time to prepare their applications to the tribunal.’
The letter continues: ‘Once the current pandemic is over and the country returns to “normality”, we would urge a review of the tribunal processes in order to modernise them and make them more resilient. The tribunal should―as a matter of course (rather than simply as a temporary fix to address the present situation) accept online applications and allow for fees to be paid electronically.
‘The current situation within the leasehold sector has clearly demonstrated that the tribunal system needs to be modernised and digitised. It is difficult at this moment to see any positives coming out of the crisis, but one may be a revamp of the tribunal system (when time and resources allow) to ensure any future crises do not impact upon the statutory timeframes within the system.’
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