Missing or Absent Freeholders
This situation used to mean that a flat owner or group of flat owners could never hope to acquire the freehold nor extend their leases. The provisions of the 1993 Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act now allow applications to be made to overcome that problem.
We have acted for many tenants with missing freeholders, and in some cases we have used an agency who have located the freeholder, and in others we have used the legislation to obtain the required Court Order to allow the lease extension or freehold acquisition proceed.
It is a slower process as Court Applications have to be made, and there is always a backlog of cases waiting to be heard, and unfortunately we have no control over the timing, so this process can be frustratingly slow at times, but eventually you will get your Court Order and you will obtain your lease extension, or acquire the freehold.
We can help you by explaining the processes involved, providing an estimate of the likely costs, and give you an idea of the overall timetable subject to what we have said above.
As mentioned it is an area that we are experienced in and we can help you through this tricky procedure.
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