Those leaseholders who qualify, may wish to buy the freehold of a property they are living in but struggle to do so as they are unable to locate the freeholder. This can often be rather frustrating for leaseholders.

As a leaseholder, it is essential that you carry out a thorough check for your landlord so you are able to convince a court that the landlord is genuinely missing. A court will require you to evidence the efforts made in locating the landlord before you take steps to purchase the freehold.

There are a number of steps a leaseholder can take to maximise their chances of finding their landlord which include:

1. Contacting HM Land Registry for a copy of the freehold title which may set out their address for the landlord.
2. Contacting other tenants who pay rent to the same landlord to assess whether they have contact details for the landlord.
3. Serving a formal notice to the landlord to their registered address.
4. Reviewing the electoral roll.
5. Placing an advert in a local newspaper.
5. Instructing a tracing agency to see if they are able to locate the landlord.

If you are able to find the landlord, your claim to purchase the freehold can proceed in the usual way. If you cannot locate your landlord, our team can assist you in making a court application for a Vesting Order.

We will take time to understand the issues involved in your matter and assess the steps you have already taken to locate the landlord. If you feel there are any further steps that ought to be taken to maximise the chances of locating the landlord, we will assist you with these. If it has not been possible to locate the landlord, we will work with you to complete an application for a vesting order. There is a process set out in statute which must be followed and we can assist you with this. Our firm is not authorised to assist with the conveyance process but we can refer you to a firm to assist with this process should you wish. Our expertise is in the litigation aspects of such a matter.