Freeholder Obligations
Freeholders: Your Obligations
As the freehold owner of a property, you have certain obligations to your long leaseholders under the terms of the leases. These may include obligations to repair (subject to reimbursement by way of service charge) and also to insure the property.
You may need assistance in relation to the management of the property and/or selecting a managing agent.
Where a Notice is served on you as legal owner of the freehold interest, either claiming an extended lease or seeking to buy the freehold, you have the right to be advised in relation to this.
It is critically important that any such Notice is not ignored, as failure to respond to it will lead to you being deemed to admit the price proposed by the leaseholders. ALEP members can provide expert advice and assistance in relation to any such Notices which are served. Additionally, under the legislation, some of your costs are payable by the leaseholder.
Find a Practitioner
ALEP was set up in 2007 in response to concerns raised by owners of leasehold properties who wanted reassurance that the people they were dealing with were reputable. Freeholders also require this reassurance.
- Where you see the ALEP logo you can be sure of a consistently high level of service.
- They must also commit to high professional standards, integrity and quality customer service.
- You can be confident that any firm that is a member of ALEP will be experienced and competent.