An individual party to a lease can make an application to a First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to vary the lease under the provisions of Part 4 Section 35 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. However the grounds for a compulsory lease variation are limited. The grounds under which you can make an application are:
- The lease has inadequate provisions relating to the repair/maintenance of the flat or building.
- The insurance provisions of the lease are inadequate.
- The lease has inadequate provision for the repair/maintenance of any installation required for a reasonable standard of accommodation of any flat within the building.
- The lease has inadequate provision for providing any service required for a reasonable standard of accommodation of any flat within the building.
- The lease has inadequate or no provision for the recovery of money from a party to the lease spent on maintaining the building by another party to the lease.
- The computation of a service charge detailed in the lease is inadequate. An example would be where a service charge proportion expressed as a percentage in all of the leases in respect of a building does not add up to 100%.
An application can also be made for an order to vary two or more leases in the building in the same way to correct the same problem with the leases. The leaseholder or the landlord can make this application. If the application concerns fewer than nine leases, all (or all but one) of the people concerned must give their permission for the application. If the application concerns more than eight leases, no more than 10% of the people concerned must oppose it, and at least 75% of them must give their permission for it. For these purposes, the landlord is one of the people concerned.
Leaseholders and the landlord can make an application to vary two or more leases if the change they are hoping to achieve cannot be satisfactorily achieved unless all the leases are varied in the same way.
The tribunal may make an order to vary the leases in line with the application or as they consider appropriate. They may also make an order instructing the people concerned to vary the leases in line with their instruction, and the tribunal can order anyone concerned to pay compensation to anyone likely to be disadvantaged by the change in the leases. However, they cannot make an order if changing the leases would cause a disadvantage to another leaseholder which could not be helped by paying compensation.
If you want to apply to vary two or more leases, you must serve notice of the application on anyone likely to be affected by the proposed variation. This will include your landlord, the other leaseholders (if the change will affect them) and your and the other leaseholders’ mortgage providers. If you do not serve the notices, anyone who should have received one can apply to the tribunal to cancel or alter the variation or, in some cases, to bring action for damages.
More information you might find useful:
- Application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber): Variation of leases
- Application Form – Application for the Variation of a Lease or Leases
- I am in dispute with my landlord but I do not want to go to Court or Tribunal. Is there an alternative?
- More Frequently Asked Questions on Lease Variations
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