The Crown Estate holds the freehold to a significant number of properties that are subject to residential leases. It is not subject to the Leasehold Reform legislation generally but, with the majority of the property that is within its estate, it will act by analogy to the relevant legislation so as to ensure that its leaseholders continue to be able to benefit from the legislation to either acquire an extended lease, buy the freehold to the block (flats) or of the freehold to their house.
The effect of this for its leaseholders is that the leaseholder can apply for an extended lease or the freehold of the block of flats or house by service of the relevant statutory notice and the The Crown Estate will act as if it is subject to the Leasehold reform legislation and serve a counter notice either admitting the claim for the lease extension of a property for a new term of 90 years plus the current unexpired term or to dispose of the freehold.
However, the rights of leaseholders to either extend their leases or acquire the freehold to land will be refused by the The Crown Estate where the property in question is in or intimately concerned with the Royal Parks and Palaces or where they properties have particular association with the Crown. These areas are described as “Excepted Areas”. In London the Excepted Areas are concentrated around Hyde Park, Regents Park, Richmond Park, Hampton, Egham and Eltham.
The Crown Estate will agree to grant leases of properties, either houses or flats, within these areas subject to the leaseholder following a similar process as that which is set out in either the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 or the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban development Act 1993 and meeting similar qualification criteria to be able to bring the claim. The qualifying criteria is broadly that the property in question is held on a “long lease”, in that it was granted for more than 21 years at the original date of grant and that the leaseholder making the application has owned the property for more than 2 years.
Once an offer has made to the Crown’s representatives for a lease extension of the property and a counter offer has been made by the Crown, the leaseholder has 6 months to agree terms and then following agreement on the price payable, 2 months to agree the form of the new lease and complete.
If the deadlines set by the Crown in the guidelines for applications are missed, it can affect the ability of the claimant to be able to extend the lease of the property which can be expensive.
At Bishop & Sewell we specialise in Leasehold Reform matters and have particular experience of making applications in Crown Excepted Areas for extended leases.
If you own property in one of these areas and would like to know more about the process involved in making an application for an extended lease, please contact Chris Macartney on mail@bishopandsewell.co.uk or 020 7631 4141 to discuss.
