News and Articles

NOTB Birmingham conference

15/09/2023

Yesterday marked the “Leasehold Roadshow” Birmingham event which was very well attended as always. Matt Lewis was invited to host one of the workshops, on the topic of “commonhold vs leasehold” which led to a healthy debate with a couple of landlords in particular. For details of further roadshow events, please see here.

Congratulations to Elin!

29/08/2023

We are absolutely delighted to confirm that Elin has been promoted to paralegal from legal assistant. Elin has worked hard over the last few years, working with both the litigation and residential conveyancing teams. The promotion is very well deserved and we look forward to seeing what Elin does next!

Office now closed for our summer break

18/08/2023

Our offices are now closed for our summer break. We will be back on 29 August, fully refreshed and ready to go! In the case of an emergency, please contact advice@commonlease.co.uk.

House of Commons update

14/08/2023

The House of Commons has updated the leasehold reform page to include a list of proposals for the legislation. This includes primarily changes to the enfranchisement laws, including valuation calculations to make it more cost effective for leaseholders. The full update can be found here.

CLE assists ALEP with commonhold!

02/08/2023

The team were delighted to recently assist the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners with the drafting of their commonhold pages on their website. The website is a source of information for their members, landlords and leaseholders. The updated commonhold pages can be found  here.


Matt Lewis appointed Judge for PMAs

18/07/2023

Matt has been invited to join the judging panel for the Property Management Awards. The event will held in London on 23 November 2023, and promises to be a glittering affair! For more event details and for tickets please see here.

CLE wins Solicitors of the Year Awards!

07/07/2023

The team are thrilled to have won “Solicitors of the Year Award” at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards. The Awards ceremony was a glamorous affair held in London and attended by industry professionals. It means a lot to the team to have won this award having fought off fierce competition from the biggest names in the industry. Thank you to all!      

ARHM Annual Conference

22/06/2023

Matt Lewis was delighted to be asked to speak at this year's ARHM conference. ARHM is one of the retirement sector's leading organisations for leasehold-led retirement management professionals. A link to the event can be found here.

Leasehold Flat Schemes

20/06/2023

Mari and Matt Lewis are pleased to confirm that the Butterworths LexisNexis “Leasehold Flat Schemes” volume update has now been released. The volume has been substantially rewritten and includes new sections such as tenure choice: commonhold or leasehold, management structures and a complete guide to the leasehold reforms. The volume is essential reading for any developer or their advisers before during an after construction or conversion of multi-unit buildings. The volume is available online for subscribers.

LMP Bournemouth success

02/06/2023

Yesterday saw another highly successful Leasehold Management Professionals event for Matt Lewis. The event was well attended by agents and other professionals with brilliant speakers who were there to discuss a range of topical matters including building safety. For details about future events, see here.

Enfranchisement Conference 2023

22/05/2023

Mari will be speaking at the annual MBL Seminars Enfranchisement Conference alongside barristers at Tanfield Chambers and fellow solicitors. Mari will be speaking on the topic of commonhold – the “need to know” for enfranchisement experts. Tickets can be booked here.

BDLS Residential Conveyancing lecture

04/05/2023

Matt Lewis spoke to conveyancing members of the Bournemouth & District Law Society today on the topic of lease extensions and enfranchisement. The topic included a look at common pitfalls for residential conveyancers and tips on how to avoid drafting errors. Details of future events can be found here.

Leasehold bill confirmed?

03/05/2023

Following a debate in the House of Lords yesterday, and much speculation surrounding the leasehold reforms, when questioned, it appears as if confirmation of a leasehold bill has been confirmed. No details as to what might be in the bill have been provided. The Hansard transcript can be found here.

Leasehold Birmingham 2023

26/04/2023

We are delighted to have been invited to speak at the Leasehold Birmingham 2023 conference on 14 September 2023. Our team will be speaking on the important topic of “commonhold versus leasehold” which led to lively debates at previous events. We look forward to meeting leaseholders and professionals in Birmingham! More information can be found here.

FCA issues final insurance review

23/04/2023

The FCA has been conducting an investigation into insurance remunerations in multi-occupancy buildings. Following previous updates, the FCA has now released their full review. This includes their final findings, together with proposed next steps. The full report can be found here.

BSA Regulator registrations commence

13/04/2023

The HSE, responsible for the Building Safety Regulator, opened up registrations yesterday for those required to be registered in line with requirements with the Building Safety Act 2022. This includes all high-rise residential buildings which are 18 metres or higher or at least 7 floors, with 2 or more residential units. The Act defines the requirements further. All those in scope for registration must do so by 01 October 2023.

MBL sessions confirmed!

06/03/2023

We continue to work with MBL Seminars to bring webinars to the industry on a variety of subject matter, including complex enfranchisement (estates and mixed-use), commonhold, right to manage, contentious enfranchisement and building safety for residential conveyancers. Please contact us for a full list of sessions and dates.

Bournemouth social

24/02/2023

Matthew Lewis was delighted to host the first leasehold reform social in Bournemouth for a cheese and wine evening. The event was very well attended by those in the profession, including lawyers, valuers, and surveyors. The event included a discussion on the various reform topics, which was, it is fair to say, lively! Following positive feedback, it is likely that Matt will host a further event in October 2023. For anyone interested in joining the next event in Bournemouth, please contact us.

Building safety update - round 2

17/02/2023

Our second building safety update this month. The Department of Levelling Up has released a series of guidance notes for residents living in higher-risk buildings. The first relates to information on the Building Safety Fund (see here). The second relates to information on fire safety and remediation of historic defects (see here). The last is a factsheet on the developer remediation contract (see here).

Property Litigation Lawyer of the Year Award 2023

16/02/2023

Congratulations to Mari for winning a “Property Litigation Lawyer of the Year” award for 2023. This prestigious award was presented following a peer-led voting system and a six-month process. The full article together with a list of other winners is available here.   

BDLS Lunch

08/02/2023

Matt Lewis was delighted to attend the Bournemouth District Law Society lunch earlier today. The lunch was well attended by local lawyers and it was great to catch up with contacts. Matt is a keen supporter of the BDLS and will be speaking to their residential conveyancing members on the “need to knows” of lease extensions and enfranchisement for sale and purchases on 04 May 2023. Tickets for the event can be booked here.

Building safety update

02/02/2023

This week has seen a flurry of activity on the ongoing building safety reforms. In addition to an announcement on 30 January 2023 from the Secretary of State that developers have six weeks to sign contracts to fix unsafe buildings (see here), two consultations have been released. The first relates to “service charge transparency requirements” (see here) and the second relates to “alterative cost recovery for remediation works” (see here). Both consultations close on 31 March 2023.

August office closure

30/01/2023

We will be closing our office for a week from 21 to 25 August to allow our team some time out before the Autumn. We will provide updated details on emergency contact details nearer the time. We thank you for your understanding.   

LMP Spring Conferences

23/01/2023

Leasehold Management Professionals, of which Matt Lewis is a director, have now released their dates for their Spring conferences. LMP has invited a range of high profile speakers to present on an interesting array of topics. The events will be taking place in Bristol, Brighton and Bournemouth throughout March. Tickets are available here.

December office closure

13/12/2022

CLE Limited will be closing their offices from noon on 23 December 2022 reopening on 03 January 2023. We thank all of our clients and contacts for your assistance throughout the last year. We look forward to working with you again next year!