Freehold sales

If you would like to collectively purchase the freehold of your block there are two ways you can do this:

The legal right (also known as statutory enfranchisement)
The discretionary scheme (if you don’t qualify for the legal right)

Legal right

To qualify for the legal right, leaseholders and buildings need to meet the following criteria:

the building must be self-contained, and have at least two flats in it.
at least two thirds of the flats in the building must be sold
at least half the number of flats in the building must take part in the purchase
where there are only two flats in the building, both leaseholders must participate
no more than 25% of the building can be for non-residential use (for example, shops)
if you or another leaseholder own more than two flats in a building, you can’t participate

If you want to collectively buy via the legal right, the participating leaseholders first need to serve us a procedural notice, usually through a solicitor.

The procedural notice would include the price you all propose to pay for the freehold, which should be based on a professional valuation.

If we agree that you have the right to buy the freehold, we will arrange our own valuation of the freehold. Once the terms are agreed, the sale can proceed.

We would take the leases on for any flats in the building that have not been sold.

Please note you will be liable to pay our costs, even if the sale does not go through.

Our fees include:

legal fee: £1,970
WCC valuation fee: £800 plus VAT
WCC admin fee: £200
plan fee: £102

If you do not meet the above criteria you can apply to purchase under the Council’s discretionary scheme.

Discretionary scheme

If you do not qualify for the legal right to buy the freehold because less than two thirds of the flats in your building have been sold, you may be able to apply to buy the freehold under Westminster’s discretionary freehold purchase scheme.

To qualify for the discretionary scheme, leaseholders and buildings need to meet the following criteria:

at least half the flats in the building must be sold
all the leaseholders must agree to the sale (even if they do not want to take part in the purchase)
the majority of tenants must agree to the sale
where there are only two flats in the building, one leaseholder could apply to buy
the council must agree to the sale

The application process consists of three steps:

You apply in writing to us, asking to buy the freehold. The application must be signed by all the leaseholders who want to take part in the purchase
We ask the tenants, and any leaseholders who do not want to take part in the purchase, for their views
If enough people agree, we arrange for the freehold to be valued, and send you an offer of sale

Please note you will have to pay our costs, even if the sale does not go through.

Fees include:

legal fee: £1,970
WCC valuation fee: £800 + VAT
WCCadmin fees: £200
plan fee: £102

This is a discretionary scheme and it is unlikely that we will agree to sell the freehold if there are any factors which could complicate the sale.

For further information about freehold sales, visit the Leasehold Advisory Services website.

Advantages of buying your freehold

The ability to organise works to the building yourselves
The ability to extend your own leases at low cost
Possible lower service charges
An increase in saleability, and possible value, of your homes

Freeholder responsibilities

managing the day-to-day running of the building
organising general maintenance
arranging for major works to be carried out
collecting service charges
insuring the building