Block 8, Corscombe Close
- The building
- A block of 15 flats, four of them held on shared ownership leases.
- What was applied for
- An appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law: whether a shared ownership leaseholder who has not staircased to 100 per cent is a qualifying tenant holding a long lease under section 76(2) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
- The figures
- 15 flats, four on shared ownership leases. Head leases of 125 years, sub-leases of 125 years less three days, staircasing in 10 per cent steps.
What Happened
For each shared ownership flat the freeholder granted a 125-year term to a housing association, which granted the occupier 125 years less three days. No notice of invitation to participate was served on the housing association. The tribunal below held the association, not the occupier, was the qualifying tenant, so the omission was fatal.
What the Tribunal Held
The appeal succeeded on that point. The Upper Tribunal held that the definitions of a long lease in section 76(2)(a) to (f) are additive, so a lease qualifies if it falls under any one of them, and that the occupiers held long leases under paragraph (a) and were the qualifying tenants who needed to be served. The judge framed the choice as a series of gateways rather than a stack of sieves. Note carefully that the right to manage claim still failed: the tribunal below had also held the claim notice defective for allowing insufficient time for a counter-notice, that was not challenged, and counsel accepted the claim must fail for that reason alone.
What it means for a block here. A shared ownership leaseholder who has not staircased to 100 per cent is still a qualifying tenant. Serve the occupier, not the housing association. And winning the point of law will not save a claim notice that is defective on its face.