A London man whose flats were bought by his tenants after he vanished for 12 years has been given a second chance to keep a converted garage on the site.
The High Court has ordered the leasehold valuation tribunal to reconsider its 2002 decision allowing nominee purchaser 58 ABC Ltd to buy the flats at 58A-C North Street, London SW4, for the benefit of the three tenants.
The ruling means that former owner Daniel Ford, who inexplicably disappeared between 1991 and 2003, can argue before the tribunal that the garage should not have been included in the leasehold of the ground-floor flat.
Collins J ruled that the tribunal had been “misled” by an error in Land Registry records, which included the free-standing garage in the leasehold. He also found that, despite an inspection in October 2001, the tribunal had not known that , prior to his disappearance, Ford had converted the garage into a fourth flat.
Tenants Martin Colyer, Julie Galpin and Lee Payne-Lawry formed 58 ABC to acquire the freehold in 2000. They claimed that their attempts since 1991 to trace Ford, who had also traded under the name David Sayers, had proved unsuccessful.
In February 2001, they obtained a county court order vesting the property in their company upon payment into court of a price determined by the tribunal.
When Ford returned to London, after allegedly working in Gibraltar for the previous two years, he discovered that his flats had been sold and that the garage, in which he intended to live, had been included by the tribunal as part of the property subject to collective enfranchisement.
Collins J said that the tribunal could not be held responsible for making a decision based upon erroneous registry records. He held: “There is no basis for saying that the tribunal erred in law: in the absence of any specific and obvious material that led to real doubt about the registration, it is entitled to rely upon the register.”
However, he upheld the tribunal as the “fall guy” because, by virtue of its jurisdiction under section 27 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, it should have taken steps to ensure that it was not perpetrating an injustice.
“It is likely that the true position would have come to light if more inquiries had been made,” he said.
In so holding, he added that his decision was not “Court of Appeal-proof” and that it may not be “the end of the road” for Ford.
A tribunal spokesperson said that it would decide within the next seven days whether to appeal the ruling.
R (on the application of Ford (t/a David Sayers)) v Leasehold Valuation Tribunal Administrative Court (Collins J) 1 March 2005.
The claimant appeared in person; Kate Selway (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the defendant.
References: EGi News 03/03/05
