neighbours right to freehold without my consent

Hoping you can help. I own a lease of approx 119 years on my flat which is one of two flats in a freehold property. My neighbours have a very short lease left on their flat (I think less than 22 years and definitely no longer than 25 years- though am not sure exactly) and are obviously very keen to buy the freehold. My lease was newly extended when I bought my flat and I am now wanting to sell. I know the the previous owners of my flat paid a premium to extend the lease before they sold to me - I think around 40-50K and have been told that owning part of the freehold will do little to raise the value of my flat now I m selling, plus I do not want all the legal hassle and complication of dealing with this now. I also do not get on with my neighbours. Consequently, I have told my neighbours I am not interested. They initially asked me to sign a bit of paper saying I was happy to have them become the freeholder which I refused to do. They are now pressurising me into signing something saying I have no interest in the freehold and have also said that as their flat has more rooms than mine, they are entitled to become the freeholder whether I like it or not. Can you please clarify my legal position here. I definitely do not want them to be freeholder to my property. Many thanks.

Hi there,

Your neighbour is wrong. I can see why they are pressuring you to join in with acquiring the freehold, as they wish to then go on to extend their own lease to perhaps 999 years (which you can do once you own the freehold title). However, they still have the option to extend their own lease without needing to involve you.

Another option for them is to buy the freehold title by agreement with the freeholder. If they can reach an agreement on price, they can proceed to buy the freehold without you, albeit the freeholder would have needed to initially serve a notice on both of you first (right of first refusal). After expiry of the notices, the freeholder can sell to whoever it likes i.e. your neighbour alone.

So, in summary, your neighbour cannot force you to do anything, and what they have said about having more rooms entitling them to more rights is, frankly, rubbish. You can continue as you are and not be involved with the freehold purchase at all. You can simply ignore anything your neighbour says and continue with your sale.

TJM Law offer a high quality conveyancing service, so please feel free to ask for a quote via my website.

Many thanks

Tom

Thank you so much for your advice. Can I just clarify then, that my freeholder would have to notify me first if they intended selling the freehold on? And if I did not give my permission, they cannot sell? They are a well known large London freeholder with a notoriously bad reputation ( though Ive had no issue to date with them), so I worry a little about that. Im assuming the freeholder will want to hang on to ensure a large sum of money for extension of the lease as it is so short on my neighbours flat now. I also understood, if there was no long lease left on my neighbours property, they would not have the right to purchase?
Thanks again, Tom.

Yes, your FH would have to notify you before they sell. Your neighbour can buy it, but will have to wait for a couple of months after the notice has expired. In other words, your neighbour, in those circumstances, would not need your permission. However, given what you have said about your FH, is it likely they will sell the FH at a price your neighbour could afford or would deem reasonable? Probably not. In which case, the only other option for your neighbour is to join in with you to acquire the freehold title. This latter route WILL require your permission.

Assuming your neighbour's lease expired, you are correct they would then have no rights to do anything, as the flat would have reverted to the freehold by that point.

Hope this helps!

Tom

Thank you! I shall look to get a quote from you for conveyacing services as I'll be needing someone I hope soon!

Its so horrid to feel bullied and threatened around matters concerning your home - you've been an enormous help in reasssuring my position.

you're welcome!