Corp of Trinity House of Deptford Strond v 4-6 Trinity Church Square Freehold Ltd (2018)

This is a recent decision in the Court of Appeal, concerning a claim for collective enfranchisement (right to purchase of a freehold) and the rights of the leaseholders over the surrounding gardens.

Within a collective enfranchisement claim, the participating tenants are entitled to claim the freehold of land outside the building containing the flats, which leaseholders are entitled to use in common under the terms of their leases.

The Landlord, however, is entitled to instead give the leaseholders permanent rights over lands which are nearly as may be the same as those that are enjoyed under the terms of the leaseholder’s leases. In this particular case, the leases included a revocable license for the leaseholders to use the garden. The landlord argued that since the right was revocable, he should not be compelled to grant permanent rights to those leaseholders. The court of appeal held that to satisfy the requirement of permanence in s. 1(4) of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, this required the grant of an irrevocable easement to use the garden, thereby converting their non-permanent rights into permanent rights.

Daniel Tang, Head of Lease Extensions and Enfranchisement at J&P commented; “This decision is important to leaseholders, who benefit from tenuous rights over any common areas and are seeking to purchase their freehold.  Leaseholders are entitled to, and should seek, the inclusion of permanent and irrevocable rights within the transfer deed of the freehold. The case also illustrates that such rights are valuable and worth considering as they will undoubtedly enhance the marketability of the flats in the building”.

For more details on this article or if you have any related questions contact Daniel Tang on 0208 290 7373 or email dtang@judge-priestley.co.uk