The applicant sought the leasehold enfranchisement of two leasehold properties. They were contained in separate leases, but the property had been treated as one for some time. A part of one property extended under part of the other. The claim was resisted on the basis that there was more than one building as required by the Act. The judge was wrong to hold so, failing to allow that whether the property was more than one building was one only of the considerations. If it could reasonably described as one house, that was sufficient, and the fact that it might also reasonably be described as two houses did not defeat the claim. Interpreted in this way there was no incompatibility with the human rights act.
Judges:
Lord Justice Chadwick, Lord Justice Kennedy, Lord Justice Rix
Citations:
Gazette 14-Jun-2001, Times 09-Jun-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 761, [2001] 3 WLR 824
Links:
Statutes:
Leasehold Reform Act 1967 2(2), Human Rights Act 1998
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appealed to – Malekshad v Howard de Walden Estates Limited HL 5-Dec-2002
A house and an adjoining building had been first demised under one lease, then separated vertically. Two separate residential properties now existed.
Held: The vertical division meant that the two houses could not be enfranchised as one under . .
Cited – Malpas v St Ermin’s Property Ltd CA 1992
. .
Cited – Parsons v Trustees of Henry Smith’s Charity; Parson v Gage HL 1974
The House left open the exact meaning of the phrase ‘material’ in the section noting that whether a part is material is an issue which must be largely factual and one of common sense. The legislative purpose of the rule that divisions of the . .
Cited – Tandon v Trustees of Spurgeons Homes HL 1982
Tenants sought enfranchisement of their properties, but 75% of building consisted of a shop, and only 25% was living accomodation.
Held: The tenants were entitled to buy the freehold. The question whether a building is a house ‘reasonably so . .
Cited – Duke of Westminster and Others v Birrane CA 17-Nov-1994
A basement extending under the house next door means that the property with the basement is not a not a dwelling-house for leasehold enfranchisement purposes. The result would create difficulties with flying freeholds. ‘The primary purpose of . .
Cited – Lake v Bennett CA 1970
The building had been constructed in 1869. It was used as a house on three floors with a basement. The ground floor was later used as a shoe repairing shop and then as a betting shop with living accommodation still used for dwelling purposes in the . .
Cited – Cadogan v McGirk CA 25-Apr-1996
The court considered whether the 1993 Act should be construed as expropriatory legislation and therefore was to be read strictly.
Held: The Court rejected the submission that the relevant provisions must be strictly construed because the 1993 . .
Cited – Peck v Anicar Properties Ltd CA 15-Oct-1970
The tenant owned two leasehold properties, which had been joined into one. The tenant sought enfranchisement of only one of the properties to avoid being blocked by the rateable value limit, and by 2(2). . .
Cited – Wolf v Crutchley ChD 23-Oct-1970
The plaintiff came to own two adjoining houses, let on long leases at low rents. She sought to use the legislation to enfranchise one property. The landlord objected saying that the houses had been used as guesthouses, and that a door had been . .
Cited – In re W (An Infant) HL 1971
The court considered the reasonability of parental disagreement in applications for adoption: ‘Two reasonable parents can perfectly reasonably come to opposite conclusions on the same set of facts without forfeiting their title to be regarded as . .
Cited – Sharpe v Duke Street Securities 1987
The court considered an application for leasehold enfranchisement where a doorway had been constructed between the two ground-floor halls and the tenant of the two maisonettes occupied both together as his residence. Two residential units may . .
Cited – Relating to certain aspects of the laws on the use of languages in education in Belgium (Belgian Linguistics) No 2 ECHR 9-Feb-1967
The applicants, parents of more than 800 Francophone children, living in certain (mostly Dutch-speaking) parts of Belgium, complained that their children were denied access to an education in French.
Held: In establishing a system or regime to . .
Cited – J A Pye (Oxford) Ltd and Another v Caroline Graham and Another CA 6-Feb-2001
Where a tenant under a grazing license had stayed over after the end of the tenancy, and had been refused a renewed licence, and had continued to graze the land for over twelve years, the mere overstaying was not enough to evidence an animus . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Malekshad v Howard de Walden Estates Limited HL 5-Dec-2002
A house and an adjoining building had been first demised under one lease, then separated vertically. Two separate residential properties now existed.
Held: The vertical division meant that the two houses could not be enfranchised as one under . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant, Human Rights
Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147560