Estates Gazette (0528) 16 July 2005, 120(1) (ISSN 0014-1240)

[2005] EWCA Civ 1068, 6 July 2005. Considers whether a purchase notice expressed as being served upon the landlord pursuant to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s12(b) was out of time. Appeal by S against a decision that their purchase notice issued against G had been out of time. S sought through proceedings to enforce a purchase notice expressed as being served upon G pursuant to s12(b) of the Act. The property comprised four flats which S were tenants of under four leases. Under the time limits in s11(2)(b) of the Act for the service of the purchase notices, S had to show documents indicating that the original disposal of the leases had taken place, had been served on the majority tenants of the constituent tenants after 16 February 2003. The judge ruled that on the facts documents had been served upon the requisite majority of qualifying tenants, indicating the original, disposal before 16 February 2003. S argued that the judge had been wrong in his interpretation of what constituted service for the purposes of the Act. "Held": appeal allowed. The purchase notice was not out of time since G had not established on the facts of each tenancy that documents, indicating the disposal of the leases had taken place, had been served on the requisite majority of qualifying tenants more than three months before the issue of the purchase notice.