Clive Emson has become the latest auctioneer to announce it will not be inviting members of the public to its March auction.
The regional auctioneer, which has scheduled auctions between 23 and 27 March in Chelmsford, Maidstone, Fareham, Saltash and Brighton, said that it would be holding the auctions on the same days as planned but from unnamed locations, so that members of the public could not attend.
Instead the auctions will continue to be live streamed on the auctioneer’s website, and potential purchasers will be able to bid by telephone, proxy or online.
James Emson, managing director of Clive Emson, said that in the two hours since registrations had opened for the auctions, the company had already received 171 registrations and that the auctioneer was continuing to conduct property viewings pending further government advice.
He said only two of the lots due to be auctioned would be affected by section 5B of the Landlord & Tenant Act, which requires auctioneers selling ground rents to inform leaseholders of the exact time and location of auction sales.
