Issue - meetings

This report recommends the use of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 by the Council to carry out a rolling programme of enfranchisements in line with the Council’s draft HRA Asset Management Strategy, utilising the enfranchisement pot to fund the programme.  Enfranchisement is the process by which the Council can seek to buy the freehold interest outright or purchase an extended lease term in relation to residential leasehold properties which the Council owns for a defined period of time under long leases. 

(i)         that approval be given to the proposed residential leasehold enfranchisement strategy, under the approach set out in paragraphs 3.31 to 3.34, which recommends a combination of options for dealing with the council’s fixed term residential leasehold interests;

(ii)        that approve ‘in principle’ be given to the recycling of capital receipts arising from the disposal of leasehold properties that are surplus to requirement into the enfranchisement pot;

(iii)       that approval ‘in principle’ be given that where the council is the freeholder and where the leaseholder is exercising his or her enfranchisement rights to buy the freehold or a lease extension, that these capital receipts are also recycled into the enfranchisement pot;

(iv)       that approval ‘in principle’ be given that that where the available funding in the enfranchisement pot potentially delays or prevents the Council being able to carry out enfranchisements, that such costs be met directly from HRA Resources;

(v)        that it be noted that officers shall produce a report for the Executive on individual property transactions where the prescribed delegated authority limit of the Operational Director of Property and Projects was exceeded;

(vi)       that it be noted that the council owns the leasehold interest in two large blocks consisting of approximately 65 flats.  The lease has 54 years remaining and officers are investigating the option of extending the lease.  A separate report will be produced for the Executive on the recommendations once the options have been considered with BHP and discussions with the parties holding superior interests have taken place.

Councillor McLennan introduced the report which recommended the use of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 by the Council to carry out a rolling programme of enfranchisements in line with the Council’s draft HRA Asset Management Strategy, utilising the enfranchisement pot to fund the programme.  The Executive noted that enfranchisement was the process by which the council could seek to buy the freehold interest outright or purchase an extended lease term in relation to residential leasehold properties which the council owned for a defined period of time under long leases. 

RESOLVED:

(i)         that approval be given to the proposed residential leasehold enfranchisement strategy, under the approach set out in paragraphs 3.31 to 3.34 of the report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Growth which recommended a combination of options for dealing with the council’s fixed term residential leasehold interests;

(ii)        that approval ‘in principle’ be given to the recycling of capital receipts arising from the disposal of leasehold properties that are surplus to requirement into the enfranchisement pot;

(iii)       that approval ‘in principle’ be given that where the council was the freeholder and where the leaseholder was exercising his or her enfranchisement rights to buy the freehold or a lease extension, that these capital receipts be also recycled into the enfranchisement pot;

(iv)       that approval ‘in principle’ be given that that where the available funding in the enfranchisement pot potentially delays or prevents the council being able to carry out enfranchisements, that such costs be met directly from HRA Resources;

(v)        that it be noted that officers shall produce a report for the Executive on individual property transactions where the prescribed delegated authority limit of the Operational Director of Property and Projects was exceeded;

(vi)       that it be noted that the council owns the leasehold interest in two large blocks consisting of approximately 65 flats.  The lease has 54 years remaining and officers are investigating the option of extending the lease.  A separate report will be produced for the Executive on the recommendations once the options have been considered with BHP and discussions with the parties holding superior interests have taken place.