Leasehold Solicitors

Leasehold solicitors are specialists who handle all legal aspects of leasehold property. Leaseholds involve extra complications compared to standard freehold transactions, and the added work will mean a longer process and a slightly higher fee.

Recent updates to the law affecting leaseholds include the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and the Building Safety Act 2022, granting leaseholder protections following the cladding scandal.

Leasehold conveyancing solicitors: Do you need a solicitor to buy a leasehold?

You have to use a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer to buy a leasehold, sell, extend the lease, or purchase the freehold. Certain parts of the transaction legally cannot be carried out by anyone who doesn't have the necessary qualifications.

Buying, selling, extending or enfranchising a leasehold involves complex legal work, which could cost you a fortune or get you in trouble with the law (or both) if not handled correctly. We recommend you use a specialist leasehold solicitor, like the experts on our panel, for your leasehold conveyancing.

Leasehold extension solicitors

The value of your leasehold decreases as the term runs out. You should always extend your lease at around 80 years remaining, but there are other reasons you may want to extend the lease beforehand, particularly if you want to reduce your ground rent. We offer advice and support for leaseholders who would like to extend or vary the lease.

Collective enfranchisement solicitors

Most leaseholds are one of multiple dwellings within a single freehold building which means the freeholds cannot be separated; for example, they have shared access and facilities. If you want to own the freehold, you can opt for collective enfranchisement. This is when 50% or more of the leaseholders club together to buy the freehold together, each owning a share of the freehold and choosing how to manage it together.

We can help with the valuation and full legal process, including setting up a freehold company to manage the building.

Management disputes or service charge disputes

Our leasehold dispute solicitors can help you to serve notice on your freeholder or management company, exercising your right to challenge poor management or unfair charges. If the freeholder is willing to compromise, we can formalise the new agreement and changes to your lease with a deed of variation.

If the dispute can't be resolved, we can help you settle your dispute at the First Tier Tribunal.

We can help with disputes over:

• Major works
• Service charges
• Insurance
• Historic neglect
• Forfeiture
• Lease changes
• Poor maintenance
• Problem neighbours
• Right to manage claims

Vesting orders

Sometimes, it isn't possible to reach the freeholder, particularly on longer leases where the original freeholder has died and a new freeholder has inherited the title, even more so if the inheritor lives overseas. If the freeholder is absent or simply fails to return a counter notice on an application to extend the lease or buy the freehold, we can help you apply for a vesting order.

If the order is granted then the court will take over responsibility of the freeholder and grant the new lease or purchase of freehold following the statutory process.

Why you need a specialist leasehold solicitor

Leasehold conveyancing is significantly more complex than standard freehold transactions. Whether you are buying a flat, extending a lease, or disputing a service charge, instructing a legal expert with specific leasehold enfranchisement experience is essential.

1. Meeting strict statutory deadlines

If you are extending your lease or buying the freehold via the formal statutory route, missing a single deadline (such as failing to apply to the First-tier Tribunal in time) can invalidate your claim. If this happens, you forfeit your legal costs, remain liable for the freeholder's costs, and are legally barred from restarting the process for 12 months.

2. Uncovering hidden liabilities

Your solicitor will conduct deep due diligence on the lease agreement to expose unfair terms, escalating ground rents, or upcoming Section 20 major works bills that you would otherwise unknowingly inherit upon purchase.

3. Managing challenging freeholders

A specialist will liaise directly with the freeholder or their managing agent to request the necessary management packs, negotiate terms, challenge unreasonable freeholder legal fees, or navigate the complex legal process of dealing with an absent freeholder via a Vesting Order.

4. Fixed fees and cost certainty

Leasehold transactions can easily drag on if the freeholder is uncooperative. It is vital to choose a solicitor who operates on a transparent fixed-fee basis rather than an hourly rate, protecting you from spiralling legal bills.

5. National coverage matters more than location

Because leasehold law is highly specialised and transactions are handled entirely electronically, finding a genuine expert is far more important than finding a solicitor on your local high street. Our panel of specialist leasehold solicitors provides complete national coverage across England and Wales.