In a long lease relationship in England and Wales, in which the freeholder owns the land and the bricks and mortar, and the leaseholder has the right to live in demarcated (demised) areas of the freeholder’s property, and use other areas (usually described as common parts) the landlord or a service company takes on the task of repairing and maintaining the non-demised bricks and mortar and common areas, and that work is for the benefit of both leaseholders and freeholders.
It maintains the value of the Estate to the freeholder, and it keeps bricks and mortar and common areas in a fit and safe condition (usually along the lines of in ‘good repair and condition’) for the benefit of residents. Long leases have been described as ‘part contract, part property’ and are conceptually complex.
Caledonian Roofdwellers Ltd, the freeholder of De Montfort Court, is owned by Celia Murray and Haward Soper, of flats 4 & 5 De Montfort Court. It has owned De Montfort Court since 1994 when the then freeholder sold it as part of a settlement of service charge litigation
Celia Murray (Celia) is a retired teacher who taught in Essex, Leicester, Dusseldorf, The Hague and Kuala Lumpur.
She earned a degree in Environmental Science and Modern Biology from the University of Leicester in the mid 1990s specialising in golf course grass and holds a Master of Education degree specialising in assessment.
Haward Soper (Haward) is a retired commercial professional who spent a 35 year career with multinationals such as Alstom, GEC, Shell and Siemens, mostly in the area of contract management at all stages of the process from proposal control to commercial dispute settlement and litigation.
He obtained a PhD in Law (his third Law degree) from the University of Leicester post-retirement, and has continued to work and research on an honorary basis ever since, recently being honoured with an Honorary Professorship. He has published two books on contract law and multiple articles on contract law (including long-leasehold) and contract management.
His range is contract law and theory, contract management, relational contract theory and doctrine, game theory, decision-making in contract and in the real-world, and now long-leasehold’s contractual aspects, not least whether a long-lease is a relational contract.