Freehold Solicitors

01722 422300

Salisbury Solicitors

01425 652110

Fordingbridge Solicitors

01980 622992

Amesbury Solicitors

01264 364433

Andover Solicitors

0800 1404544

Freephone Number

Lawyers Specialising in Acting for Leaseholders and Freeholders Nationwide

If you are a leasehold flat or house owner, or the owner of a freehold house or building that contains flats, you will probably already know that the legal aspects of owning property can be complicated. And that’s why you need specialist freehold solicitors.

As well as having restrictions on how they can use their own building, leaseholders also have many rights, including the right to extend their lease or buy their freehold. But when dealing with these kind of freehold and leasehold issues, you need to be certain that your solicitors really understand this area – and few conveyancing solicitors, in particular, handle these issues as often as you might expect.

But here, at Bonallack & Bishop we have one of the country’s largest specialist freehold and leasehold teams – a 5 strong team dealing with nothing but lease extension, enfranchisement and right to manage applications, as well as a highly specialist leasehold and freehold dispute expert. And over the last 25 years, our freehold solicitors have helped around 10,000 people extend their leases, buy their freehold or take over control of their block.

Need help with a leasehold or freehold issue? Call our specialist Freehold Solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

What kind of issues do our freehold solicitors deal with?

Overall, we handle a full range of leasehold and freehold property issues including:

1. Lease extensions

2. Leasehold enfranchisement i.e. purchasing your freehold

3. Right to manage claims

4. Right of first refusal

5. Freeholder/leaseholder disputes, including:

o Service charge disputes
Click here to read more about our service charge disputes solicitors can help you

o Ground rent arrears

o Lease forfeiture and possession

o Nuisance actions

o Maintenance disputes

o Major works and objecting to a Section 20 notice
Click here to read more about objecting to a section 20 notice

o Management company and shared freehold disputes
Click here to read more about shared freehold disputes

o Disputes over enforcing restrictive covenants

6. Absent freeholders

7. Lease variation

8. Licence to alter/License for work

And our 22 strong conveyancing team handle the sale and purchase of freehold and leasehold residential houses and flats as well as commercial property for clients nationwide.

What is different about leasehold property?

Where a property is divided into flats or is a purpose built block, it is usually the case that each flat owner will lease their home from the landlord or freeholder. The landlord owns the land and the building. The original lease will often be granted initially for a period of between 99 and 999 years.

The freeholder is responsible for arranging buildings insurance and for maintaining the structure and outside of the building as well as any common parts. The leaseholder will generally be charged a fee by the freeholder (known as the service charge) which is usually payable either quarterly, twice yearly or annually – whatever is stated in the lease.

The lease will set out in detail what the landlord can charge for. This can include:

· Buildings insurance

· Maintenance of the building and common parts – this includes everything from cleaning shared areas to major structural repairs

· Decorating the common parts

· Gardening for shared grounds

· Gas, water and electricity bills for the common parts

· A payment into a sinking fund – this is a pot of money built up over time to cover large items of future expenditure, for example, if a new roof is needed

The leaseholder will often also have to pay the landlord ground rent. This is usually an annual payment – again is set out in the lease.

Management companies

Quite often, block management and maintenance is dealt with by a third-party management company chosen on by the freeholder or the RTM company if enough in the block have exercised their right to manage. It is usually either the freeholder or block management company who will be ultimately responsible for collecting service charge payments and insuring and maintaining the building.

Dealing with the sale and purchase of leasehold property

The process of buying and selling property is more complicated when dealing with leaseholds. The buyer and their solicitor will need to see a range of information relating to the lease, including management company accounts and a copy of the buildings insurance policy.

It is also usually necessary to serve notice on the landlord when a flat changes ownership. This is dealt with by the buyer’s solicitor following completion.

There is additional complication if the flat is in a block where the right to manage or freehold purchase had previously taken place. Where a flat owner is a member of the management company for the freehold company, and where the membership of either of those 2 companies automatically follows ownership, then the buyer’s solicitor will also arrange for membership to be transferred to the new owner.

Leasehold rights

Leaseholders or flat owners generally have a range of legal rights. These include:

· The right to extend their lease, if they wish to – by an additional 90 years at zero ground rent – lease extension

· The right to purchase the freehold together with some or all of the other flat owners- freehold purchase

· The right to manage the running of the flats together with some or all of the other flat owners – known as the right to manage

· The right of first refusal (i.e. being given choice 1st to purchase the freehold) if the freeholder decides to sell up

Exercising these rights can be complex. Regardless of whether your freeholder or a leaseholder, it’s important that you have specialist freehold solicitors who really understand these areas to look after your interests.

Lease extension – your legal right

If you own what is known as a long lease (i.e. a residential lease originally granted for at least 21 years), you will almost certainly have the legal right to extend your lease. It’s really important to make sure that you do this before remaining lease term drops below 80 years. This is because the moment the term drops below 80 years, the freeholder is entitled to charge more to extend your lease – using what is known as “marriage value”.

And the lower your lease term gets, the harder it will be to sell it or for potential purchasers to find a mortgage to buy it. Once a lease drops below around 70 years, mortgage loans become significantly harder to find – and much, much more difficult to source once the term drops below 60 years. And difficulty in getting a mortgage means that your flat will become harder to sell and almost certainly worth less – sometimes considerably less.

Lease extension – is the formal or informal route right for me?

When it comes to extending a lease you have a choice. You can try to negotiate an informal lease extension with your freeholder or deal with the matter formally by enforcing your legal rights in applying for what is known as a formal statutory lease extension.

These formal lease extensions are often a better choice for the following reasons:

· With a statutory or formal extension, the lease remains substantially the same – so the landlord cannot impose new requirements or restrictions

· You have a legal right to add 90 years to your lease with the formal route, while the landlord may only offer less than this informally

· Ground rent will be reduced to zero with the formal route

· The landlord can’t refuse to extend your lease, change the terms or pull out part way through – all of which is perfectly possible with an informal agreement

In both cases, you will need to pay the landlord a premium for the lease extension. And with the statutory lease extension, in addition to your own legal and valuation costs, you are also expected to pay the reasonable legal and valuation costs of your freeholder. Although, even if you choose an informal lease extension you will probably have to pay those costs as well.

To be eligible for a formal lease extension you need to have owned the property for two years. There is however no need for you ever to have lived there – so property investors and buy to let landlords have the same lease extension rights as owner occupiers.

The formal lease extension route has a number of stages, as follows:

Advising the landlord that you wish to formally extend your lease
You need to serve a formal section 42 lease extension notice on your freeholder to start the formal process of formally extending your lease.

Valuing your lease extension
You will need a formal valuation of the premium you will need to pay to your freeholder to extend your lease. This is a highly specialist area and you’re going to need a surveyor with plenty of lease extension experience. There are comparatively few of these – but we have set up an informal panel of surveyors nationwide who specialise in this area – and we are happy to introduce you to 1 of them as part of our one-stop shop service.

The premium you’re going to need to pay is calculated by looking at a number of issues including:

· The current market value of the leasehold property

· The start date of the lease

· The original length of the lease

· The annual ground rent

The valuer may give you a range rather than a single figure. The premium can increase substantially once a lease falls below 80 years on account of marriage value, as explained previously.

You will also need funds to pay your own solicitors’ and surveyors’ costs as well as your freeholder’s reasonable legal and valuation costs.

Making a formal offer to the landlord
A formal offer is then made to your freehold in what is known as a section 42 notice.

The notice should include all relevant details, including the premium you’re offering to pay. The notice should also give freeholder a deadline by which to respond.

It’s important that your solicitor correctly drafts and serves this notice. Any mistake at this stage could lead to an automatic withdrawal of your application – which means wasted legal and surveyor costs and in addition, it will prevent you from making another formal lease extension application for a minimum of 12 months

Your freeholder’s response
Your freeholder can request further information from you and likely to also ask for access for their own specialist surveyor to value the property. They may serve a counter-notice and they can ask for a deposit. They can agree to your terms or propose different terms, such as a higher premium.

It may be open to them in some circumstances to refuse your request – it turns out you’re not legally entitled to a lease extension or have made an error in drafting or serving the section 42 notice.

Agreeing on the premium to be paid
Your solicitor can negotiate with the landlord’s solicitor to try and agree on the premium to be paid. On the rare occasion that both parties can’t reach a compromise figure, the matter can be referred to the First-Tier Property Tribunal. Fortunately this is not common – not least because both parties should expect to pay their own legal and surveying costs for attending the Tribunal , which can prove expensive

Once an agreement has been reached, your solicitor will draft the new lease. When this has been approved, completion can take place. Your solicitor will arrange for registration of the new lease at HM Land Registry.
Click here to read more about how our Lease Extension Solicitors can help you

Collective enfranchisement – purchasing your freehold

As well as the right to extend your lease, you are likely to also have the right to purchase the freehold of the property together with some or all of your fellow flat owners. This is known as collective, freehold or leasehold enfranchisement.

Enfranchisement – the pros and cons

There are several potential advantages in owning the freehold, including:

· You can grant yourselves lease extensions for no premium

· You can reduce your ground rent to zero

· You can decide how much the service charge will be and how much to put into a sinking fund

· You can shop around and find the best deals for buildings insurance and maintenance jobs

· You can make sure that repairs and works are carried out as soon as they are needed

· You can change particular terms in your lease, for example, to allow pets or subletting

· It can be an advantage when you come to sell, particularly if you have granted yourself a very long lease

NB. Please note that your ability to exercise the rights above will depend on having the support of the other leaseholders who participated in buying the freehold. So for example, if one or more don’t want to amend existing leases to allow pets in the block, that will not be possible.

Flat management does have its drawbacks however and as a group you will need to be prepared to put in the work to deal with the administration. This includes:

· Collecting service charges and chasing any arrears (not always a pleasant experience, particularly in smaller blocks where you are having to chase your neighbours)

· Arranging buildings insurance and having work carried out to the property as necessary

· Holding meetings to agree on issues such as what maintenance is needed

· Preparing annual accounts

· Taking action to enforce the terms of a lease if these are breached by a flat owner

You can employ a management agent to do this for you, but this can be expensive.

Eligibility for collective enfranchisement

To qualify to purchase the freehold:

· The original lease must have been granted for a minimum of 21 years

· The building must have two or more flats with at least two-thirds of the flats owned by qualifying leaseholders

· At least half of the qualifying leaseholders must want to buy the freehold

The collective enfranchisement process

It very important to make sure that you instruct an experienced leasehold enfranchisement solicitor to act on your behalf as the process is relatively complex. Few solicitors come across enfranchisement regularly.

With statutory lease extensions, will be liable for your freeholders’ reasonable legal and valuation costs.

The enfranchisement participation agreement

Unless your block is a very small one, and it’s usually a good idea to have a participation agreement drawn up and signed by the leaseholders who will be purchasing the freehold. This sets out the responsibilities of everyone involved, including the share that they will contribute towards the purchase price, and legally commits them to staying the course with buying the freehold.
Click here to read more about the enfranchisement participation agreement

Initial Notice
A nominee purchaser will serve an initial notice on the freeholder. The nominee could be one of the flat owners or, more commonly, a management company is formed and this will be the nominee. The notice must include all of the relevant details, such as the deadline for a counter notice and the proposed premium.
Click here to read more about the collective enfranchisement notice

Counter notice
The freeholder has 21 days in which to ask for information and must also serve their counter notice by the deadline in the notice.

Agreeing on the price to be paid to the freeholder
You are going to need an experienced enfranchisement surveyor to provide a valuation of the freehold. Your freeholder may well propose a higher premium in their response and your solicitor can negotiate on your behalf to try and agree on a price.

As with lease extensions, if you and your freeholder cannot agree on a premium, you can further matter to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide.

Once the price has been established, arrangements can be made for the transaction to be completed. Your solicitor will register the freehold into the name of the new owner(s) at HM Land Registry.

Right to manage -RTM

As a leaseholder, you and the other flat owners have the right to take over the management of your flats. Provided you meet the relevant criteria, your freeholder cannot object to this and you do not need their consent. The leaseholders will be liable for the freeholder’s reasonable legal costs.

Eligibility for right to manage

The block must be self-contained and no more than one-quarter of it can be commercial. Two-thirds of the flat owners must be leaseholders whose original lease was for more than 21 years. This should be at least two flats. At least half of the flats in the block must wish to participate in the right to manage scheme.

In very limited circumstances, some blocks of flats might not qualify for the leaseholders’ right to manage. This includes where the landlord or his family lives there, the block is not purpose-built and the block contains fewer than four flats.

The right to manage process

The first stage is to set up a right to manage company. You can do this on your behalf to ensure that your RTM company is properly formed and registered at Companies House – or your solicitor or accountant can set up the company for you.

All of the qualifying leaseholders must be formally invited to participate in the right to manage application. After this, notice is served on all freeholders as well as to any other parties to the leases and on any existing managing agent. Each leaseholder should also be given a copy of the notice.

As with lease extension and enfranchisement, it’s critical that the notice is drafted correctly serve correctly and the relevant timetable adhered to. Making a mistake with any of these could lead to the rejection of your claim.

The freeholder can request information from the management company. They may serve a counter-claim to the RTM application if they have a valid objection.

If no objection is received, then the management company will take over managing the property from the date specified in the notice.
Click here to read more about our our freehold solicitors can help you with the Right To Manage

Right of first refusal – RFR

If freeholder wants to sell the freehold, then the qualifying leaseholders (with leases of more than 21 years) will usually have the right of first refusal.

It is a criminal offence for the landlord to sell the freehold without giving the leaseholders the right of first refusal. The leaseholders would have the right to purchase the freehold from the new owner at the price that they paid.

To qualify for RFR, the building must contain at least two flats. Half of the flats in the building must be owned by qualifying leaseholders. No more than half of the premises can be non-residential.

The freeholder start the process by serving an offer notice on the leaseholders. This will include the price that they want. The leaseholders should have at least two months to make a decision.

More than half of the qualifying leaseholders need to agree to the purchase. If you wish to go ahead the next step is usually to ask your solicitor to form a management company.

The freeholder then has a further month to send a contract to the leaseholders. They have two months to sign the contract and pay the deposit. Completion will take place on the date written in the contract.

If the leaseholders decline the RFR offer, the freeholder can then sell the freehold on the open market to whoever they choose. However, it’s important to note that the freehold cannot be sold at a lower price or on different terms most contained in the original RFR offer. In order to sell at a lower price, the freeholder will need to go back to the leaseholders and offer to sell to them first at the reduced price.
Click here to read more about the Right Of 1st Refusal

Freeholder/leaseholder disputes

Disputes often arise between freeholders and leaseholders. These include:

· Service charge disputes, where flat owners disagree with the amount requested or refuse to pay or pay late

· Maintenance disputes, where flat owners want work carried out but the landlord fails to do this or is slow to arrange it

· Management company disputes, where flat owners disagree with the decisions taken by the management company or between themselves

·. Our specialist freehold solicitors and our property dispute team regularly work together tohandle freeholder/leaseholder disputes and will try and deal with matters before they escalate.
Click here to read more about freeholder & leaseholder disputes

Absent freeholders – lease extension, enfranchisement and right to manage

If you own a flat and you cannot locate your freeholder, you may still be able to exercise these kind of legal rights, by applying to the County Court for what is known as a vesting order.

However, the process is different and will involve you in more legal costs of your own – though this will probably be more than offset by the fact you won’t have to pay your freeholders legal or valuation costs and with regard to lease extension and enfranchisement, there is a very good chance that you may end up paying a lower premium than you would if negotiating with the freeholder

It will usually be an advantage to the flat owners to take over the flat management where there is no freeholder doing this. As well as making sure the block is well-run and properly maintained, it will be a benefit when a flat is sold.

It’s worth noting that even fewer freehold solicitors deal with vesting orders than with lease extension or freehold purchase.

But rest assured, our team have plenty of experience in this area, and successfully apply for vesting orders on a regular basis.
Click here to read more about missing freeholders

For Legal Advice You Can Rely On - Contact Us Today

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Just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or one of our local office numbers
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AMESBURY (01980) 622992 or
ANDOVER (01264) 364433
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teresa mythen (Teasy21)

1730131344

Very good service , friendly helpful staff that listen well . Communication is great , and very good solicitor, that explain things clearly . They are aware of who you are and your case.

Malcolm Harrison

1729680359

I used B&B, more S&C really (Simon and Coco) to help me with writing a will. They had been recommended to me by my sister who had been delighted with their service and so to was I. Simon was very knowledgeable and took the time to explain some of the legal language gymnastics, left me fleeing comfortable that he had reflected my wishes well and covered various futures. Coco was superbly well organised, communicated exceptionally well and did so with a charm and humour that made me feel that I had made a friendI can recommend these guys without reservation

Angie Mc

1728393936

Will prepared by Simon speed. He met and prepared the will quite quickly and was professional throughout as were his friendly and polite staff. Would highly recommend

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We Found Bonallack& Bishop helpfull and efficient would definitely use them again Peter Curley

Andy South

1727679547

Bonallack and Bishop did what was merely required of them to complete the sale of my house. But, they managed it in a atmosphere of sheer uninterest and of doing what was merely required of them.In the five month sale there were no indications that the person dealing with the current enquiry was that that interested in their client. Some emails went unanswered and I only discovered later that my solicitor was largely part time, passing the case load to an equally silent paralegal. Then there was the disappearing on holiday.....True the house sold eventually but I was never kept appraised of the progress unless I asked. Bonallack and Bishop did what was required in an atmosphere of automaton and of no interest or concern for their suffering client.I'd never use them again or recommend them. 8/10 for getting the job done, but 1/10 for being human or interested.

VIctoria Goodman

1726767394

Michelle Newton and Dinshaw Printer were professional, efficient and dealt with a sensitive case with compassion. Highly recommend

Donald Teale

1726671233

They are understaffed and after waiting a month for a two hour engagement I was told to try another firm

Rob Gibson

1725444832

Liam and the team have been a fantastic support and have helped me enormously. Continually kept me in the loop at all times and have always been happy to simplify things and answer my basic questions!I would highly recommend Bonallack & Bishop to anyone who needs a solicitor!

Richard Williams

1724930266

Greta Whitaker and the team provided an excellent service in relation to a lease extension.Update - almost a year later I contacted Bonallack & Bishop for what I thought would be a simple task of verifying my ID. After two emails, two phone calls and well over a week I've not had a single unprompted response and have eventually had to go elsewhere. Hence the rating has been downgraded from five stars to three stars.

David triandafilou

1722888915

Dinshaw Printer quickly became a trusted adviser that helped me through some difficult times. His knowledge of the divorce process and the effects of the military pension are exceptional. Honest, direct and always putting my best interests as a priority. I hope my friends never have to go through a divorce, but if they do I would absolutely recommend Dinshaw with Bonallack & Bishop Solicitors..

millsy4606

1722588934

Fantastic Service from this company especially from Liam Oliver. Everything was explained clearly regarding the process of divorce and financial settlements nor did i feel pressured into making any snap decisions. Highly recommend this firm.

Rachel Bowditch

1722440405

I've just sold a property & received a great service from Maria & Jenny at the Amesbury office. Very helpful, friendly & professional. The process was very smooth & speedy. And the fee was less than originally quoted. Would definitely recommend.

Alan Ramsdale

1722244123

I was very pleased with Clare Cox's work on the administration of my late father's estate, for which she did all the work on my behalf as executor. She more than earned her firm's fee with her expert legal knowledge, which was of great benefit to his estate.

Jan Turpin

1721635113

Very happy with the advice and professionalism of the Solicitor, Mr Simon Speed, when compiling our wills. The cost was reasonable and any queries were dealt with by return (email/phone). Would certainly recommend Bonallack & Bishop, based on our experience.

Michael Ford

1720175814

Simon Speed was excellent and re-assuring to ourselves, when renewing our wills, which were in need of a comprehensive review, as they were almost twenty years old.He gave sound advice at all times and allowed ourselves to become confident that this ultimate decision had been handled both professionally and sensitively.

Nicola Rodriguez

1719736080

Dinshaw expertly and efficiently guided me through a complex and difficult process with his diverse experience and eclectic knowledge. Dinshaw and his assistant Gemma, highly recommend.

Rachel Wedderburn

1718821549

I have had reason to consult Carl Raybould at Bonallack Bishop in Salisbury over a property and boundary issue in which he was very knowledgeable and supportive, his advice helped me get a situation to court.I recently had to seek advice for the court hearing as Carl is not a criminal lawyer he gave me detailed advice and instruction for the date. He got back to me by phone quickly and has answered emails very fast which is not the reality with all solicitors.I highly recommend Carl Raybould his advice is mindful and he cautioned me regarding the importance of getting quotes before proceeding with a barrister. I will always give this practice and Carl a call in future for any problem.

Christian Matheou

1717587455

I can't comment on the technical nuance, but I unfortunately did find the customer service fairly lacking. I worked with them in order to extend my lease, and they originally had said the process would take 3 - 6 months, but it took over a year, and throughout the process, I would have to chase them for updates - they would usually ignore the first one, and respond to the second (one or two weeks later). They did successfully complete the process; however, I have contacted them asking whether I'll receive any paperwork confirming completion, and have yet to receive any response - it's been two months, and I've emailed them three times. Really disappointing, given how expensive the whole process is.Edit: Following the review, I did receive a follow-up, which helped clarify things and move forward. I appreciated their quick response to following feedback.

Andy H

1716468502

Dinshaw Printer of Bonallack and Bishop Solicitors was superb in handling of all aspects of my recent divorce. Providing succinct balanced advice, in a highly efficient manner, he has an intricate understanding of divorce proceedings with the knack of making the complex simple. My only regret was not instructing him at an earlier date. I would have no hesitation in recommending him and Bonallack and Bishop Solicitors.

Richard Pitman

1715835790

Fantastic service from start to finish. Liam was very knowledgeable and helped me with everything that I needed to achieve.

gillian avery

1715621030

Really good experience with Bonallack & Bishops. Very efficient and no hidden costs everything explained up front. Liam Oliver dealt with my case, he was always quick to reply and proactive in suggesting best way forward. Very professional.

Helen Reed

1715370011

The Amesbury branch staff were very friendly quick and efficient. I would highly recommend.

Caroline Dawe

1714904211

I have just revised my Will with Bonallack & Bishop. All done very quickly and efficiently. Thoroughly recommend

Sheila Dovey

1713204900

Simon Speed helped us to prepare our wills, he guided us through the process in a way that was very easy for us to understand, in a very professional and supportive manner. We want to give a special thanks to Coco who we had contact with, who made everything run smoothly thought the entire process . All the staff were very professional and welcoming, including the receptionist when we visited the office.Our whole experience was very positive.

Brian

1712846727

We had an easy time changing our wills with Simon Speed he put us at our ease all through the process and would like to thank him personally From Brian /Anne Coombs

Steph Everett

1712729742

We have just sold our house and received a great service from Jenny and Maria at Bonallock and Bishop. Very professional, helpful, friendly and approachable. They made the few bumps along the way easy to deal with and made our choices clear. Would thoroughly recommend their services.

Brian Plummer

1712315891

We appointed Bonnalack and Bishop to help sell our London flat. Helen Fish was our main point of contact. She was outstanding. She is professional, competent and helpful. The sale was not straightforward as it was part of a shared estate but Helen patiently steered us through the maze of issues and kept us fully informed at each stage of the process. We would certainly use the firm again if we needed conveyancing advice.

vivien pottle

1712243327

Helped me with the sale of my house. Very efficient and pleasant company. Kept me well informed and answered any questions I had very quickly. Would highly recommend

Nigel Hacking

1711640265

Simon Speed helped my wife and I with making new Mirror Wills. He was very informative and was able to give us great advice and everything was completed very rapidly and at a very reasonable cost. Highly recommended.

Martyn Smith

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I would like to thank Bonallack &Bishop for there excellent professional advice and help concerning my divorce and financial settlement they have guided me through all the paperwork and documentation that i have received and have been very pleased with there service from the day i approached then with now clue as how to proceed many thanks again for a wonderful service provided by you

sarbjeet singh

1711059279

Where do I begin I have never experienced such incompetence from a solicitor before the amount of time, effort and money wasted for completing a new home purchase which should be straight forward turned into a nightmare. Unfortunately I couldn’t use my existing solicitor for this purchase due to tight timelines and new build we were referred through a brokers panel meaning we were new customers. From the moment we engaged Helen we advised timelines are tight please if you can email/call whenever you need anything and we will prioritise your requests to avoid any delay. Our initial documents, ID and funds were sent within 24 hours but Helen failed to check wasting an entire week of critical time. Started off bad, and continued to get worse, the amount of documents required which changed each day made it extremely difficult to work with Helen causing so much stress and frustration to the point I asked for a clear list of requirements to proceed to local search request which again changed when all the documents were provided, this continued for 3 weeks to the point where our builder was going to pull out who had also not come across a solicitor who worked in this manner. In the end we gave up and moved to a different solicitors who understood our situation and was able to exchange within 3 weeks and completion in 5 weeks. If you do not want stress, time and money wasted for purchasing your next home I would stay very far away from this firm.

Andrew Milner

1710717310

I used Bonallack and Bishop to complete the purchase of the freehold of a property, through an application to Court. The legal process completed satisfactorily (delayed because of the Court system) but the communication from B&B was shocking. The legal team was difficult to get hold of, and did not provide any pro active updates on progress and costs incurred. One fee note was sent for a significant sum of money without any forewarning, another was not sent at all (the first time I knew about it was when credit control chased me). Altogether a frustrating experience that I am not going to willingly repeat

Howard George

1710244292

Sincere thanks to Bonallack and Bishop, and more specifically to Simon Speed and Coco Middleton, for their incredible professional knowledge and help managing my recent will and LPA applications. What was a very confusing and complicated matter for me, was dealt with efficiently, smoothly and helpfully.Having had numerous dealings with other Salisbury solicitors over the past 35 or so years and been universally disappointed, I have now been using Bonallack and Bishop for all my legal issues, such as house purchases/sales etc for a number of years with complete satisfaction.I cannot recommend them more highly.With sincere thanks, Howard George

colin hembrow

1709359481

We live in New Zealand and recently sold an apartment in the North West of England. We chose Bonallack & Bishop to represent us and conveyance of our property because we had previously engaged this company as our solicitors during the purchase in 2012.Helen Fish was the solicitor and we are very pleased with her performance, professionalism, attention to detail and advice during the conveyancing process.

Szilvia K

1709291965

Disappointing but not surprising.I presented a strong case to them and ask them to represent me. The receptionist, Debbie is a star. She listened carefully asked a lot of details and was very compassionate.However the firm chickened out. Maybe it was too much to chew or they very much rather cover the other side. Either way, it’s a lost chance for them to get the glory and the fame. I’m quite sure that eventually I’ll get justice, despite that this firm wasn’t interested to helping me.

Sue Carpenter

1708981316

I have just completed the sale of a flat, and am very happy with the conveyancing led by Africa Morante in the Salisbury office, with assistance from Claudia Newman. In the past I've often found solicitors patronising and economical with information, leaving me feeling I can't ask more questions. That was not the case with Africa or Claudia, who kept me informed and answered my questions swiftly, fully, and in a straightforward non-condescending manner. Africa's approach was professional and pragmatic, and she put a lot of effort into moving the sale forwards, avoiding getting stuck on unnecessary issues, and chasing outstanding matters. I'd definitely use Africa and the team again, and highly recommend them to others. Fees were reasonable and there were no hidden costs.

Sophia Dixon

1708636673

Great experience with these solicitors. They managed my lease extension for me, and were very helpful throughout. I worked mainly with Greta Whitaker, who was fantastic. She kept me completely informed the whole way through the process, handled everything well, and always made everything very clear for me. I would definitely use Greta and the Bonallack & Bishop team again.

Amy Louise

1708374287

Miss Langton and Mr Pownall have been nothing but professional and friendly throughout my time with them. Miss Langton has been an incredible listening ear. Both fully explained everything in depth and kept me in the loop at all times. I couldn’t recommend them enough. They remained extremely patient at all times and dealt with my situation in a very sensitive way. Their knowledge and expertise shines through all they do and say. I have been communicating with them for a number of years and can’t thank them enough for everything they have done.

Marcus Penson

1708339923

I used Bonallack & Bishop for my lease extension on a flat. I found them online and used them based on their reviews, and fast response for a quote.Jake Holmes covered the majority of the work, and I found him and the company very professional and easy to do deal with. Once the extension was completed I recommended them to a friend who also needed to go through a lease extension.

Craig Cattell

1708100168

Initially I hoped my divorce would be straight forward and chose B&B for their military pension issue experience; not just their discount for Forces.Things got complicated quite quickly and Liam from B&B Solicitors was agile enough to deal with all of these complications expertly. His sage advice and guidance kept me on the straight and narrow and I certainly would have not navigated the process without his skilled guidance.I'm not a frequent reviewer but I am very happy with the outcome and professional guidance.

Liamhan OKelly

1707655337

We used Bonallack & Bishop in our recent lease extension. Living overseas meant we had little knowledge of this process but our Solicitor Greta Whitaker guided us through each stage and answered all our questions both promptly and patiently!I would use Greta again for any legal work and would have no hesitation in recommending her.Thank you

Lana Kinley

1706433605

Great efficiency from Jake Holmes in renewing my lease on my leasehold property. Many thanks

Juliette Nicholson

1705586748

I needed a solicitor to guide me through a separation letter. I personally dealt with Mr Liam Oliver at the Salisbury branch.Mr Oliver was kind, sensitive to my needs and very thorough on the separation agreement.I would have no problem using Liam again with any other legal matter I might have.

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1699457903

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Its Vitalitie

1697910267

I had a positive experience with Bonallack & Bishop Solicitors. I found Greta to be extremely patient, thorough and knowledgeable. She made the process of my case stress free. Thank you Greta.

Patricia Stevens

1697635788

Thanks to Georgia Pointer and Hollie who both worked very hard to get the sale of my property over the line. Fantastic work by all involved. Finally completed sale today after an earlier hiccup. Would recommend this company to anyone who needs a good solicitor.Massive thank you again

Brian Lawrence

1697470400

Can thoroughly recommend Bonallack & Bishop for a friendly, professional and diligent service. Highly recommend.

Michael Swinburn

1695732014

Simon Speed provided excellent advice about our new wills ,and was happy to answer any questions .Thank you , Will be in touch next year .

Gordon MacFarlane

1695221414

I found Bonallack & Bishop online while seeking to extend the lease on my flat. My initial contact was with William Parsons who explained the process clearly and concisely and provided an estimate of costs I was happy with before passing me to the lease extension team of Greta Whitaker and Kirsty Dables. I was very happy with the Greta’s handling of the process and was kept up to date on progress throughout. Would definitely recommend this firm to anyone seeking a lease renewal.

Carol Walton

1695045675

I would like to acknowledge the support and expertise of Bonallack and Bishop during my case. Throughout the process they were extremely accessible and kept me fully up to date on all relevant matters, I have no hesitation in recommending them to any prospective clients. Should the need arise they would certainly be my first choice.Carol walton18.9.2023

I had need of the services of a solicitor to guide me through a Settlement Agreement. Bonallack and Bishop helped make the whole process as simple as it could be.

With their help and support we got everything sorted within 2 weeks which allowed me to get on with my life

Clive Bingham