Leasehold Property law. Personally delivered.
Leasehold Property law. Personally delivered.
The non-residential limit rose to 50% for right to manage in 2025 — but not for buying a freehold. A point widely misreported, explained by our London solicitors.
Reviewed 25 July 2026
A change that commenced for right to manage in March 2025 did not commence for freehold purchases. A good deal of published commentary has the two confused.
To buy the freehold of a block collectively, the internal floor area in non-residential use must not exceed 25% of the whole, disregarding common parts. It is the test that most often defeats mixed-use buildings — the mansion block with a parade of shops beneath it, or the converted building with an office on the ground floor.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 raises that limit to 50%, which would bring a great many such buildings within reach for the first time.
The equivalent change for right to manage claims came into force on 3 March 2025. The change for collective enfranchisement did not. It remains uncommenced, along with the rest of the Act's enfranchisement provisions, and no commencement date has been given.
The distinction matters and it is frequently blurred. We have seen the 50% figure quoted as current for freehold purchases on solicitors' websites, in agents' particulars and in advice given to residents' associations. A group that proceeds on that basis will serve an initial notice that fails, having paid for a valuation and given an undertaking for costs.
If your building is between 25% and 50% non-residential, three things follow. You cannot buy the freehold collectively at present. You may well be able to claim the right to manage, which delivers control of the building without buying it. And the position is likely to change, though not on any timetable anybody can rely on.
That combination often points towards a right to manage claim now, with enfranchisement revisited once the provision is commenced. Right to manage is quicker, cheaper and does not require a premium — and where the substance of the complaint is poor management rather than the length of the leases, it may be the better answer in any event.
The test is internal floor area, not the number of units and not the rateable value. Common parts are disregarded, which can work either way. Basements, storage, plant rooms and areas used partly for residential and partly for commercial purposes all require attention, and a building that appears obviously over the limit sometimes is not.
Where a claim turns on the measurement, it is worth having it done properly by a surveyor before anything is served. The cost of measuring is trivial against the cost of a failed claim and the twelve-month bar that follows a deemed withdrawal.
If your building has commercial space and you are not sure where you stand, send us the address and we will establish which rights are available now.
This article reflects our understanding of the position on 25 July 2026 and is general information rather than legal advice. The law in this area is changing: take advice on your own circumstances before relying on it.
Tell us what has happened and what you would like to achieve, and we will tell you plainly where you stand, what it is likely to cost and how long it will take.
