Lucy Barber writes for The Sunday Times on Enfranchisement

Head of Residential Property, Lucy Barber, answers a reader’s question in The Sunday Times’s 'Home Help Q&A' regarding issues surrounding enfranchisement. 

Question: In 2017, I bought a new-build leasehold flat. Within a year, the residents were advised that the freehold was to be sold, but they showed no interest in buying it as a group. So it was sold on to a private company. Right away, the new freeholder took control of the building insurance charge, previously paid as part of the maintenance fee to our block’s management company, and raised the cost of it by 200%. What can I do? Am I vulnerable to unreasonable future cost increases?

Lucy’s answer can be read, behind a paywall, by clicking here.