Although something we deal with every day at Olden Property, it surprises most people to learn that in 2024 can have your house forcibly acquired from you in the UK. This can be your home that has been in your family for 100s of years or the buy to let investment you purchased three years ago. It can be a farm with land or a flat in the centre of London.

How long will this Compulsory Purchase Order take? It depends on who you ask but generally the answer is ‘too long’. The following is a broad breakdown of the various stages of a compulsory purchase order.

The compulsory purchase code or compensation code is a term used mainly by CPO practitioners, surveyors and solicitors as a catch all phrase for all of the valuation rules, statues and case law which surrounds compulsory purchase. The truth is, although discussed at length an actual compulsory purchase code has never been created.

Compulsory Purchase is a land assembly tool used by public bodies including local authorities, infrastructure providers and other statutory undertakers throughout the United Kingdom. Any property (apart from one or two exceptions e.g. The Kings property) can be acquired via compulsory purchase.

Marriage Value in relation to property value is defined by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as "an additional element of value created by the combination of two or more assets or interests where the combined value is more than the sum of the separate values". Or as Aristotle MIGHT have said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.

Olden Property is 10 years old this year. 1st February to be precise. As we haven’t had time to write out a list of everything we have learned in this time in order to impart our infinite wisdem (don’t worry we will). Instead we will use various indices to find out what the market has done in this time.

When an acquiring authority makes a compulsory purchase order (CPO), the land owner or affected part has a minimum of three weeks (sometimes more) to object to the making of the order. If an objection is received the Secretary of State will order a public inquiry in the CPO.

At Olden Property we can act as an Expert Witness where a property dispute comes before a tribunal. Our expert witness work is generally either concerned with our work in the world of Compulsory Purchase or residential Lease Extension and Freehold Purchase (collective enfranchisement) work

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gives the right for leaseholders of flats acting together to purchase the freehold of their building. On successful completion, the participating leasholders will become the freeholders of the building. This will put them in a position to grant themselves extended leases, commonly 999-year lease terms. Here you will find a quick 13 steps guide to Collective Enfranhisment.

This is a scheme I started working on in 2014. My clients, both owners and occupiers of Property in Woolwich would rather the scheme did not happen but as it has been ‘hanging over them’ for over a decade - they are keen for the scheme to progress giving them certainty so that they can finally move on with their lives. Sadly this certainty is not forthcoming any time soon.

Can you stop a compulsory purchase order?

In short, the answer is ‘yes’ but, to be transparent, in the majority of cases, the compulsory purchase order (CPO) goes through. A CPO is a very difficult process to stop.

Olden Property has recently been instructed by a number of leaseholders affected by the Grahame Park CPO, which is being promoted by the London Borough of Barnet . We have negotiated the sale of leasehold properties on the estate in the past few years where the London Borough of Barnet purchased the Property by agreement.

You will have read a lot recently about the abolition of leaseholds, championed by Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove. What is the current state of these proposed changes?

Olden Property is acting for Corsica Studios, leasehold occupiers at Arches 4 & 5 Farrell Court, Elephant Road. A CPO has been made by the London Borough of Southwark to acquire their interest in land to make way for a major redevelopment of the old Elephant & Castle shopping centre.

When people think about residential valuations, they often think about estate agents. Valuations and estate agents go hand in hand with a property sale, however there are many other real-life scenarios where you may need to take advice from a chartered surveyor.

Why should I extend my lease? Let me introduce you to Katie and James……

Is Compulsory Purchase Fair? My response? They can be very unfair, plain and simple.

We have negotiated the sale of twelve leasehold properties on the estate since 2015.

When buying a flat, it is important that the purchaser understands exactly what they are acquiring.

The slight pain became a huge pain, and I am booked in for the first of five root canal treatments.