Latest blog posts

It is over a month since the Housing Secretary's announcement on Leasehold Reform. We wrote are response shortly after and have been advising numerous clients, new and existing on what this means for them. Our pithy answer is "there is great opportunity but it all depend on your personal circumstances". The vast majority of clients already ... Read more >>

Following on from the Law Commissions Consultation and recommendations the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced “the biggest reforms to English property law for 40 years, fundamentally making home ownership fairer and more secure”. Peter Barry Surveyors have been fighting the corner for Leaseholders since 2010 and know too well ... Read more >>

One of the most common reasons for leaseholders wanting to extend their leases is the need to sell. A property's value decreases along with the lease, with a 70-year lease worth around 90% of a 100-year lease, whilst a 60-year lease is more like 80%. The basic mathematics of the lease extension process means that the cost of extending, plus ... Read more >>

It has been 100 days since Boris Johnson announced in a televised address, that the UK was to go into lockdown. At the time, Peter Barry Surveyors were quick to act and implement working practices that protected our clients and our staff with the wider scope for desktop studies for lease extensions and freehold acquisitions being a perfect ... Read more >>

As we all adjust to the new reality of home working everyone is having to adjust the way they do business. Residential surveying is founded on the need to visit and inspect people's homes and properties, but there are many types of work that with small adjustments can still function remotely. Desktop Reports A report for a lease extension can be ... Read more >>

We have previously covered worked examples of how a typical lease extension works but never freehold purchases (enfranchisements) as these are more complicated. It shouldn't really be this way, so this article will look at a typical scenario that Peter Barry encounters with a focus on simplicity. Part 1 - The Basics Of all the flat owners in ... Read more >>

One common type of enquiry we receive at Peter Barry, involves a leaseholder who's freeholder also resides in a property in the same building.  The leaseholder wants to extend their lease. As the two parties are neighbours, is it possible to grant this but it will still depend on particular circumstances. Leaseholder owns Share of Freehold If ... Read more >>

Right of first refusal (RFR) is invoked when the freeholder (landlord) wants to sell their interest in a building that is subject to RFR legislation and they are required under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (the “1987 Act”) to offer this interest to the leaseholders first. This can be the entire freehold, part of the building or common ... Read more >>

When leaseholders enact their statutory right to extend their lease or buy their freehold by serving a formal notice of claim on the freeholder it can be an adversarial process. Once a notice is served, if the landlord does not agree with the terms of acquisition proposed in that notice (including price), he has two months in which to serve a ... Read more >>

Leaseholders have the right to extend their leases under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Under the 1993 Act leaseholders are entitled to a 90 year lease extension and a reduction of their ground rent to a peppercorn. In return they must pay their freeholder compensation, call a premium. The statutory process ... Read more >>