A Leasehold Valuation Tribunal - How Does It Apply to Buying A Freehold?

In 1993 a new law came into effect that permitted flat owners with a leasehold agreement to apply for their freehold right to buy. This meant that providing they could meet the basic conditions set down in this law, they could set about buying a freehold even if the landlord objected to the idea.

The law is known as the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, and it applies solely to collective claims brought by a group of flat owners wishing to use their freehold right to buy.

The process of buying a freehold can take anything from around three months at the shortest to a lot longer if the landlord is 'hostile' and doesn't want to copyright.. One thing to remember however, if you are considering going down this route yourself, is that your landlord cannot simply say no to your freehold right to buy because he or she doesn't agree with it. The landlord has to have a valid statutory reason to block such an attempt.

Some landlords are happy to go through the process and will be amenable to negotiating on friendly terms when it comes to settling on a price for the freehold. However this does not apply to all cases. If the situation is hostile and no agreement can be made on a price, the case may eventually be referred to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal- though thankfully, most landlords see sense and relatively few cases get to the LVT.

The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal is a body created to resolve this kind of dispute when it arises between a tenant (or in this case tenants) and a landlord. Needless to say it is always best if this can be avoided, although in some situations it is inevitable that the freehold right to buy will end up at the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal before it can be settled. If your own case does end up going to the LVT it will take longer to settle than it would have done on friendly terms.

This is one of the reasons why buying a freehold should ideally be done with the help of a solicitor specializing in freehold purchase cases. If your case should go to the tribunal your solicitor will handle the situation for you and make it far less stressful. Even if you do end up going down this route it does not mean your application for the freehold right to buy will be unsuccessful. It could merely take longer to complete before you can enjoy the benefits of being a freehold owner.

Thinking of buying a freehold property? Make sure you talk to Bonallack & Bishop first- Solicitors specialising in freehold purchase.

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How Will Employment Tribunal Changes Affect You?

Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the Government intends to implement some major changes to the process in which an employee launches claims against his employer through an employment tribunal. By doing so, Mr Osborne argues that British businesses will be saved an annual bill of around £6 million by lessening the number of cases that can add up to around 2000 per year. However, employee groups are seeing this as yet another nail in the coffin for employees' rights. How will these changes affect the ordinary, working man or woman?

Tribunal Claims.

In the first of the changes, the government is doubling the qualifying period in which an employee can be employed before they can launch a tribunal claim. Currently, an employee need only have been employed for one year before they are able to do so. But from April 1st 2012, this will become two years. Business owners welcome this as it makes it 'less risky' to hire new people, given that they will find it easier to make them redundant if they are found to be under-performing. However, employee groups believe that this system will be open to abuse by unscrupulous employers and a significant number of unfair dismissal cases will now go unreported. Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, warns that: "While less job protection encourages increased hiring during economic recoveries, it also results in increased firing during downturns."

Tribunal Fees.

The second change is the introduction of a fee to take an employer to trial. Although no decision has as yet been reached as to exactly how much an employee will have to pay to undertake a tribunal hearing, it has been suggested that it will cost £250 to file a claim, with a further £1000 incurred when the matter is listed for hearing. Claims in excess of £30,000 may well incur higher fees. While businesses are likely to applaud this system as it could significantly reduce the number of unfair dismissal claims seen each year. Sceptics argue that claims of this sort counted only for around 15% of employment tribunal cases seen between 2010 and 2011, and inclusion of the fee is a serious erosion of employees' rights.

However, for employers taken to tribunal, the changes will not make much difference, so it is still in their best interests to avoid tribunal action at all costs. The Government has said that it wants to increase the possibilities for non-legal resolution between employees and employers, and that this particular change is aimed at doing just that.

July 2004 saw employers raising their hands in horror as the Government introduced additional compensatory awards for hard-to-define matters such as stress, injury to feelings and personal humiliation. It seems that the pendulum is now swinging firmly in their favour, although the onus seems to be more on positive resolution outside the tribunal, rather than complete abolition of employees' rights. While it will no doubt be harder for employees with genuine grievances to launch cases, substantial sums will be saved from no longer having to deal with cases that would otherwise be 'thrown out'.

The Work Ethic are Employment Lawyers Edinburgh.

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Nick Jervis is a consultant to the Work Ethic.

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