Serving Section 5 to Long leaseholders

I wonder if someone selling the freehold interest have dealt with serving Section 5 to long leaseholders and to short leaseholders of commercial units in a mixed development.

Or know a commercial lawyer in West London can do it including the conveyancing of the property being sold.

Thank you, Sat

Editors Note: From The Leasehold Advisory Service >> https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/right-first-refusal/

“Where a landlord is proposing to sell his interest in a building containing flats in relation to which the RFR exists, he must, by law, first offer it to the tenants before offering it on the open market. He must serve formal notices on the tenants telling them what he is intending and must provide time for them to consider the offer; he cannot sell to another party during that time, nor offer the interest to anyone else at a price less than that proposed to the tenants or on different terms. Breach of these legal obligations by the landlord is a criminal offence. If the landlord sells without providing the Right of First Refusal, the tenants can serve a notice on the new owner demanding details of the transaction, including the price paid; they can then take action to force the new owner to sell to them at the price he paid.

It is important to understand certain key principles of the RFR:

• it is not a means of forcing a landlord to sell his freehold interest in a property (this is provided by the enfranchisement provisions of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993). It is an opportunity for the tenants to purchase that interest before it is offered on the open market or by auction.
• the right follows a landlord’s decision to sell and the tenants can only react to the landlord’s offer. He can withdraw the offer at any time before the contract is binding.
• the right is available both to leaseholders and regulated (fair rent) tenants but not to houses occupied as single dwellings.
• the price is set by the landlord, or by auction where the landlord decides to sell that way. There is no right for that price to be determined by a First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or anyone else. However the landlord cannot sell or offer the interest to another party on different terms or at a lower price than that originally offered within 12 months of his notice, unless he again offers the Right to the existing tenants on the new terms and/or at the lower figure.
• the price set may, in some circumstances, be lower than that which could be achieved through a collective enfranchisement. However, it could also be higher.
• the requirement to make the offer and the procedure involved is set out in the Act. If a landlord fails to comply with any of these statutory requirements he commits a criminal offence. The requirements also apply where the landlord’s interest is being sold by a Receiver, a Trustee in bankruptcy or an Executor following grant of probate.
• the right is not available to tenants of local authorities, housing associations, nor, in some cases, where the landlord lives in the building.”

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