First-tier Tribunal Sets Price for Freehold Purchase When Landlord Untraceable

OUTCOME: Allowed

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FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Case reference :

BIR/00CR/OAF/2025/0009

Property : 18 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Applicant: [redacted] :

[NAME]

Respondent: [redacted] : Not applicable (missing landlord) Type of application : Application under sections 21(1) and 27(5) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (“the 1967 Act”) Tribunal members : [NAME] FRICS Venue : Remote Date of paper determination :

12 December 2025

Date of issue : 05 January 2026

DECISION

Decision of the Tribunal (1) The tribunal determines that the price to be paid by the applicant for the purchase of the freehold on statutory terms is £2,347.

2 The Background 1. This is an application under section 21 (1) (a) of the 1967 Act pursuant to an order made by Deputy District Judge Howard sitting at the County Court at Dudley on 29 July 2025 (“the order”).

2. Sections 21(1) and 27(5) of the 1967 Act concerns claims for the purchase of the reversionary freehold interest where the relevant landlord cannot be found. It enables the court to make a vesting order in respect of any interests of the landlord which are liable to acquisition.

3. Under section 27(5)(a) of the 1967 Act, the role of the tribunal is to determine the appropriate sum to be paid into court in respect of the landlord’s interests. This to be done in accordance with section 9 of the 1967 Act.

4. The applicants in this matter are [APPELLANT] and [NAME]. They are qualifying tenants of 18 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] (“the Property”) with a long tenancy within the meaning of section 3(1) of the 1967 Act. The respondent freehold owners are the successors in title to Mr [NAME] and Mrs [NAME].

5. A witness statement prepared on behalf of the Applicants has confirmed that following an Application to Court on 26 March 2025 a Part 8 Claim was issued at Dudley County Court for an order pursuant to section 21(1) of the 1967 Act seeking the freehold of the Property. A copy of an undated CPR Part 8 Claim Form is at pages 3-4 of the bundle.

6. The applicant has been unable to ascertain the whereabouts of the respondents. The applicant subsequently applied for a vesting order under section 27(1) of the 1967 Act. The vesting order was granted subject to the determination of this tribunal.

7. The applicant has provided the tribunal with a valuation report prepared by Mr [NAME] [NAME], a Consultant Chartered Surveyor acting on behalf of [NAME] dated 4 August 2025.

8. Mr [NAME] is of the view that the premium to be paid for the freehold is £2,013 as at the valuation date adopted of 1 April 2025. The Determination 9. After scrutiny the tribunal accepts the opinions expressed by Mr [NAME] in his valuation report dated 4 August 2025 save that: (i) The Expert has allocated 32.5% of the Entirety Value to the site value. The tribunal has reviewed the site size, shape and location

3 of the property. It has had regard for the plot the property occupies. It is noted the plot has a front and rear access which is a material consideration in value. The dwelling is situated close to a car parking area. The Upper Tribunal decision, [NAME] [NAME] v Liverpool City Council (LRA/78/2015) provides guidance on the matters to consider in determination of the appropriate percentage of the entirety value attributable to the site. In accordance with the guidance and previous Upper Tribunal decisions this tribunal has deemed 37.5% of the Entirety Value should be adopted as the apportioned site value in this valuation.

(ii) The Standing House value given by the Expert is £167,600. This is based upon the analysis of a single comparable property sale, no [ADDRESS] at £167,400 in July 2023 and the sale price of £127,500 following the sale of the subject property subject to the 70.3 years unexpired term in April 2022. The tribunal note that the sales of these two properties took place some time ago, and the Standing House value is based upon the average price for these two sales corrected for date of sale and relativity.

The tribunal would prefer comparable transaction evidence at the valuation date. This preference follows guidance given in [COMPANY] v [COMPANY] 2022 [UKUT 231(LC)] which emphasises the use of a range of comparable sales transactions in valuation of the freehold interest.

(iii) The tribunal based upon their knowledge and experience at the valuation date has adjusted this average value offered by the Expert with a 5% supplement to reflect the property location and kitchen extension. The 5% uplift applied by the tribunal to the proposed value produces a Standing House value of £173,500.

10. An adjusted calculation that adopts the revised parameter listed above at (i)–(iii) results in a freehold purchase premium of £2,347. A copy of the tribunal’s valuation is attached to this decision.

11.

Accordingly, the tribunal determines that the premium to be paid in respect of the purchase of the freehold of the property is £2,347.

12. This matter should now be returned to the County Court sitting at Dudley under Claim Number M00DD207 in order for the final procedures to take place. [NAME]

4 Appendix A : Premium Valuation

5 RIGHTS OF APPEAL 1. If a party wishes to appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) then a written application for permission must be made to the First-tier Tribunal at the Regional Office which has been dealing with the case.

2. The application for permission to appeal must arrive at the Regional Office within 28-days after the Tribunal sends written reasons for the Decision to the person making the application.

3. If the application is not made within the 28-day time limit, such application must include a request for an extension of time and the reason for not complying with the 28-day time limit; the Tribunal will then look at such reason(s) and decide whether to allow the application for permission to appeal to proceed despite not being within the time limit.

4. The application for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the Tribunal to which it relates (ie, give the date, the property and the case number), state the grounds of appeal and state the result the party making the application is seeking.