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04 January 2007 / Mark Sefton
Issue: 7254 / Categories: Features , Property
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Property Law Update

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Mark Sefton explains the reasons behind the current popularity of leasehold enfranchisement

Leasehold enfranchisement is big business these days. One reason for this is that, since the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 came into force, tenants no longer have to occupy the property as their residence to qualify to bring a claim. Developers can now buy a lease of a house or a flat and, so long as the conveyancing has been tied up neatly, they can claim the freehold or a 90-year lease extension, even though they have no intention of ever living in the property. Institutional investors with portfolios of rack rents in the residential market can do the same. It has even been possible, in one case, for the head lessee of a large mansion block in east London to claim statutory lease extensions on all 28 of the flats within the building—Maurice v Hollow-Ware Products Ltd [2005] 2 EGLR 71, [2005] EWHC 815 (Ch), [2005] All ER (D) 254 (Mar).

Financial magic

Another reason for the current popularity of leasehold

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