leaseholder's rights and freeholder's obligations

I live in a house which was converted into two flats in the 80s. I own one of the flats with a leasehold (75 years remaining). The other flat is owned and occupied by the freeholder. A few months ago, I asked the freeholder to inform me if he intended to sell his flat as I would like to buy a share of the freehold. I have just found out that the flat is on the market but the freeholder has not informed me. I was told that the freeholder has to offer the leaseholder the chance to buy a share of the freehold before putting the flat on the market. Is that right? If this is not correct, what are my options? (My lease does not have many years left and I am thinking of selling in a 2 or 3 years).
Thank you for your help.

Hi,

The freeholder does not need to offer the freehold for sale (known as right of first refusal), as it is probably just the LEASEHOLD title he intends to sell on the open market. He can sell the flat, but still retain ownership of the freehold title. This is perfectly legal.

May I suggest you contact the freeholder to see if he is willing to transfer the freehold title to both you and the incoming purchaser. This way, you will then own a share in the freehold and you can then extend your lease. A common misconception is that, once you have the freehold (or a share of it) your lease disappears. This is not the case, so you will still need to extend your lease after.

If the freeholder is not willing to transfer the freehold title in this way, he is free to keep it. In those circumstances, your alternative option is to extend your lease. You can achieve this either by negotiation with your freeholder or by serving a formal notice on your freeholder.

I can assist you in any of the above scenarios. Feel free to call or email me privately for a no-obligation quote.

Tom