Quick Answers
Can we force our freeholder to sell the freehold?
Yes — if your building qualifies. Collective enfranchisement is a statutory right: at least half the qualifying leaseholders serve a notice of claim, and the freeholder is legally obliged to sell at a price determined by a statutory formula. They cannot simply refuse.
What did the 2024 Act change?
Several things that previously made enfranchisement difficult or expensive: the two-year ownership requirement was abolished, the non-residential limit was raised from 25% to 50%, marriage value (a major cost component) was removed from the valuation, and the freeholder's legal costs are no longer automatically payable by leaseholders.
How long does it take?
An uncontested claim can complete in four to six months. A disputed price — which goes to the First-tier Tribunal — typically takes twelve to twenty-four months. Most claims settle by negotiation before Tribunal, somewhere in between.
The short answer: Collective enfranchisement gives leaseholders in a qualifying block the right to buy the freehold at a statutorily determined price. The freeholder cannot refuse if the qualifying conditions are met. After purchase, participating leaseholders own the building through a freehold company they control — removing the freeholder from the equation entirely and giving them the right to extend their leases to 990 years at a peppercorn ground rent.
The honest context: the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 made enfranchisement materially cheaper and more accessible, but many of the provisions depend on commencement orders that have not yet all been made. The two-year ownership abolition and the non-residential limit increase are in force. The marriage value removal is not yet fully in operation as of May 2026. Check current implementation status with a solicitor before relying on the valuation changes.
Key Takeaways
The freeholder cannot refuse — but they can dispute the price
Collective enfranchisement is compulsory on the freeholder once a valid claim is made. The freeholder's lever is the purchase price — they can counter-propose a higher figure and, if agreement is not reached, the First-tier Tribunal determines the price. This is where most contested claims spend most of their time and cost.
The two-year ownership requirement is gone
Previously, a leaseholder had to have owned their lease for two years before participating. The 2024 Act abolished this. A leaseholder who bought last month can join a claim today. This removes a barrier that frequently blocked claims in blocks with recent turnover in leaseholder membership.
Marriage value — a significant cost driver — is being removed
Marriage value was the additional premium payable in enfranchisement where lease lengths were below 80 years, reflecting the uplift in value the leaseholder gains from owning the freehold. The 2024 Act removes marriage value from the statutory valuation formula. This can substantially reduce the purchase price, particularly for blocks with shorter leases. Implementation is ongoing — confirm current position with a solicitor.
Leaseholders no longer automatically pay the freeholder's legal costs
Under the old law, leaseholders were typically required to pay both their own and the freeholder's legal and valuation costs regardless of how the freeholder conducted themselves in the process. The 2024 Act changes this. The cost position is still evolving as case law develops, but the automatic obligation to fund the freeholder's legal team is gone.
The non-residential limit has been raised to 50%
Under the previous law, a building where more than 25% of the floor area was non-residential (commercial units, offices, retail) was excluded from collective enfranchisement. The 2024 Act raises this to 50%. Mixed-use buildings that were previously blocked from claiming can now proceed if they fall within the new limit.
Non-participating leaseholders have new buy-in rights
Leaseholders who did not join the initial enfranchisement claim — because they could not afford it at the time, were sceptical, or simply missed the process — now have statutory rights to buy into the freehold company after the claim completes. This makes it easier to build participation retrospectively and reduces the resentment that sometimes arose when non-participants benefited from the collective action without contributing.
What the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 Actually Changed
The 2024 Act is the most significant reform to leasehold enfranchisement since the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that created the right in the first place. The changes address the three main reasons leaseholders previously gave for not pursuing enfranchisement: cost, eligibility barriers, and complexity.
Two-year ownership requirement. Leaseholders needed to have owned for two years before participating. Now abolished. You can join a claim from the day you complete on your purchase.
Non-residential limit: 25%. Buildings where more than a quarter of floor area was commercial were excluded. Now raised to 50%. Many mixed-use buildings that were blocked can now proceed.
Marriage value added to purchase price. For leases under 80 years, marriage value substantially increased the cost. Marriage value removed from the valuation formula. Implementation ongoing — confirm current position.
Leaseholders paid freeholder's costs automatically. Regardless of freeholder conduct, leaseholders funded both sides' legal and valuation fees. Automatic cost obligation removed. Position still developing through case law.
Non-participants locked out. Leaseholders who did not join the initial claim had no statutory right to join the freehold company afterwards. New statutory buy-in rights allow non-participants to join the freehold company after claim completion.
Lease extensions limited to 90 years. After buying the freehold, individual leases could be extended by 90 years. Now 990 years at a peppercorn ground rent — effectively a permanent interest.
Not all 2024 Act provisions are in force as of May 2026. The two-year ownership abolition and non-residential limit change are in effect. The marriage value removal and cost allocation changes are subject to ongoing commencement. Always confirm current implementation status with a specialist leasehold solicitor before making enfranchisement decisions based on the valuation changes.
Eligibility: Does Your Block Qualify?
Collective enfranchisement is available when the building and the participating leaseholders meet a set of qualifying conditions. Most residential blocks of flats qualify — the main exclusions are buildings with very high non-residential proportions, converted houses where the freeholder lives, and buildings owned by certain exempt bodies.
Building conditions
The building must contain at least two flats held on long leases (originally more than 21 years).
At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held by qualifying leaseholders.
No more than 50% of the building's floor area must be used for non-residential purposes (raised from 25% by the 2024 Act).
A converted house where the freeholder occupies one flat as their only or principal home — the resident landlord exemption applies.
Buildings owned by the Crown, certain local authorities, or exempt religious bodies are excluded from collective enfranchisement.
A building that was converted from a house where the freeholder has lived for the last 12 months, if it contains no more than four units, may be exempt.
Leaseholder conditions
To be a qualifying leaseholder and join the claim, you must:
- Hold a long lease — originally granted for more than 21 years
- Own the flat (it does not matter how long you have owned it — the two-year requirement is abolished)
- Not own more than two flats in the same building (if you own three or more flats in the building, you are excluded from participating)
Participation threshold
At least half of the qualifying leaseholders in the building must participate. In a ten-flat block, at least five must join the claim. In a six-flat block, at least three. This is a minimum — more participants spread the cost and reduce the risk that a withdrawal jeopardises the claim.
The Process: Step by Step
Organise participating leaseholders and appoint specialists
Identify which leaseholders want to participate, confirm eligibility, and appoint a specialist leasehold solicitor and surveyor. The surveyor will produce an initial valuation to give leaseholders a realistic picture of the likely purchase price before committing. Form a nominee purchaser — the company (typically a right to enfranchise company or existing RTM company) that will serve the notice and hold the freehold after purchase.
Serve the initial notice on the freeholder
The initial notice — the formal claim document — must be served on the freeholder by the nominee purchaser. It must identify the building, the participating leaseholders, the proposed purchase price, and a deadline for the freeholder's counter-notice. The deadline must be at least two months after service. Once served, the claim is live — there are strict procedural deadlines that must be met from this point.
Freeholder responds — accepting or contesting
The freeholder must serve a counter-notice by the deadline specified in the initial notice. The counter-notice either admits the right to enfranchise (and may accept or counter-propose the price) or denies it (challenging whether the qualifying conditions are met). If no counter-notice is served, the leaseholders can apply to court for an order giving effect to their initial notice.
Price negotiation between the parties' surveyors
In most cases, both sides appoint valuers and negotiate a purchase price. This stage can be resolved quickly where both valuations are close, or drag on for months where there is a significant gap. Negotiation resolves the majority of claims without the need for a Tribunal application — but it requires both surveyors to be sufficiently instructed and responsive.
First-tier Tribunal determines the price
If negotiation does not reach agreement, either party can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination of the purchase price. The Tribunal process involves expert evidence from both surveyors and takes twelve to eighteen months from application to decision. The Tribunal's decision on price is binding. This is the most expensive route and is avoided by most parties if negotiation is possible.
Transfer of freehold and lease extensions
Once price is agreed or determined, the solicitors handle the conveyancing — the transfer of the freehold to the nominee purchaser. Each participating leaseholder then has the right to extend their lease to 990 years at a peppercorn ground rent without paying a premium, as part of the same transaction. The freehold company takes over from the freeholder — managing agent appointment, service charge collection, and building management become the freehold company's responsibility.
How the Purchase Price Is Calculated
The statutory valuation formula for collective enfranchisement has three components. The 2024 Act removes one of them (marriage value) and adjusts the capitalisation rates used for the others — the combined effect is a material reduction in the price leaseholders must pay.
| Component | What It Is — and What the 2024 Act Changed |
|---|---|
| Ground rent capitalisation | The present value of the ground rent income stream the freeholder loses on enfranchisement, capitalised at a statutory rate. The 2024 Act adjusts the capitalisation rates downward — meaning leaseholders pay less for this component. Particularly significant for blocks with peppercorn or very low ground rents, where this component may be negligible. |
| Reversion value | The present value of the freeholder's right to recover the building at lease expiry — discounted for the time until the lease(s) expire. For modern blocks with long unexpired terms, this is typically a small component. The 2024 Act adjusted the discount rates used in this calculation. |
| Marriage value | Under the old law, where any participating leaseholder had a lease of 80 years or less, the freeholder was entitled to 50% of the "marriage value" — the increase in the property's value generated by the enfranchisement itself. This was often the largest single cost component and could add tens of thousands to the price. The 2024 Act removes marriage value from the formula. Implementation timing: confirm current position with your solicitor. |
For a block of six flats in East London with an average unexpired lease term of 75 years and a modest ground rent, the removal of marriage value could reduce the enfranchisement price by 30–50% compared to a claim made under the old law. Leaseholders who considered enfranchisement too expensive in 2023 and 2024 should reassess under the new valuation framework — but only once they have confirmed which provisions are in force at the time they intend to serve their initial notice.
What Happens After You Buy the Freehold
Buying the freehold does not end the process — it changes who is responsible for managing the building. The freehold company that the leaseholders have formed becomes the freeholder. That means taking on all the obligations that come with it: maintaining the building, managing the service charge, complying with leasehold law, and — if they choose to appoint one — selecting and instructing a managing agent.
After enfranchisement, the most common next steps are:
- Lease extensions for all participating leaseholders — to 990 years at a peppercorn ground rent, as part of the same transaction or immediately afterwards. This is typically done as part of the completion process to maximise the value and mortgageability of each flat.
- Appoint or review the managing agent — the freehold company now has full control over who manages the building. If the previous freeholder's agent was unsatisfactory, this is the point to switch. If the block also has an RTM company, the two bodies will need to coordinate.
- Review the service charge structure — the previous freeholder's service charge budget may not reflect the building's actual cost profile. The freehold company should commission a reserve fund study and reset contributions if necessary.
- Offer buy-in rights to non-participating leaseholders — under the 2024 Act, non-participants have statutory rights to join the freehold company. Managing this process clearly avoids ongoing friction between the freehold company and leaseholders who were not part of the original claim.
RTM vs Enfranchisement: Which to Choose
Right to Manage and collective enfranchisement solve different problems. The right choice depends on what leaseholders in your block actually need.
| Factor | Right to Manage vs Collective Enfranchisement |
|---|---|
| Cost | RTM is cheaper. The claim costs are mainly legal fees — no purchase price. Enfranchisement requires paying for the freehold plus all professional fees. Enfranchisement is an investment; RTM is an operational change. |
| What you gain | RTM gives you control of management. Enfranchisement gives you ownership of the building. With RTM, the freeholder still owns the building and still controls the lease terms, ground rent (if any), and any future lease extensions (which you must pay for separately). With enfranchisement, you own the building outright. |
| Lease extension | RTM does not extend your lease. Enfranchisement enables 990-year extensions at a peppercorn ground rent as part of the same process. If short leases are a concern — affecting mortgageability or future saleability — enfranchisement addresses this directly. |
| Speed | RTM is faster. An RTM claim typically completes in three to six months. Enfranchisement takes four months minimum (uncontested) and can run to two or more years if disputed. |
| Eligibility | Both routes have eligibility conditions, but they differ. RTM does not require a minimum number of years of ownership (both abolished). RTM requires two-thirds participation. Enfranchisement requires half participation. Some buildings qualify for one but not the other. |
| Long-term position | Enfranchisement is permanent. Once you own the freehold, no future freeholder can increase ground rent, create new obligations, or sell the freehold to a speculative investor. RTM can be lost if the RTM company fails to perform its management obligations. Enfranchisement cannot be undone. |
For a detailed explanation of the Right to Manage process, see Right to Manage: How It Works in 2026. For what the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act means for commonhold, see Commonhold and the Leasehold Reform Bill 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
At least half of the qualifying leaseholders in the building must participate. In a six-flat block, at least three must join. In a ten-flat block, at least five. Leaseholders who do not join are still bound by the outcome but do not share in ownership — though under the 2024 Act they now have statutory rights to buy into the freehold company after the claim completes.
The two-year ownership requirement — which previously prevented leaseholders from participating in a claim unless they had owned their lease for at least two years — was abolished by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Leaseholders can now participate from the day they acquire their lease. This removes a barrier that frequently blocked claims in blocks where recent purchases had changed the leaseholder composition.
In most cases, no — collective enfranchisement is a statutory right. The freeholder can dispute the purchase price, challenge whether the qualifying conditions are met, or apply to strike out the claim on technical grounds, but they cannot simply refuse to sell once a valid initial notice has been served and the qualifying conditions are satisfied.
The only substantive ground for resisting is if the freeholder intends to redevelop the building — this requires a court order and is rarely made out in practice.
An uncontested claim — where the parties agree on the price without Tribunal involvement — can complete in four to six months. A contested price determination at the First-tier Tribunal typically takes twelve to twenty-four months and significantly increases professional costs. Most claims settle by negotiation at some point, typically within six to eighteen months of the initial notice being served.
Participating leaseholders have the right to extend their leases to 990 years at a peppercorn ground rent — typically done as part of the completion transaction. The freehold company takes over from the previous freeholder, including the relationship with the managing agent and the service charge structure.
Non-participating leaseholders become leaseholders of the new freehold company and have statutory rights to buy in and extend their leases on similar terms.
Considering enfranchisement — or need help managing the block after you've bought the freehold?
Neon works with RTM companies and newly enfranchised freehold companies across East London and Essex — from compliance management and Section 20 consultation through to service charge accounts and reserve fund planning. If you've just taken control of your building, we can help you run it properly from day one.
Talk to Neon about block management →