I own a leasehold flat can I purchase the freehold ? If so how do we go about it?

Yes, it is true. Indeed, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (subsequently amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002), most lessees actually have a legal right to buy the freehold - on condition that at least half of them participate in the purchase. Any lessees who decline to take part are deemed to have forfeited the right – they can’t expect to come back later, after everything is done and dusted, and demand their share. However, generally speaking it makes sense to try and get everyone in the building involved right from the start, because it helps spread the cost.
The best way to set things rolling is to call a lessees’ meeting and arrange for a suitably experienced surveyor and solicitor to attend. There will probably be quite a few questions, and they should be able to answer them there and then, which could save a lot of time further down the track.
Assuming enough lessees choose to participate, the solicitor will draw up a participation agreement and the surveyor will prepare a valuation. A formal Notice requiring the freeholder to sell will then be served.
So far, so good. Bear in mind, however, that the freeholder will almost certainly disagree with your surveyor’s opinion of how much the freehold is worth, and will therefore want to commission his or her own valuation (for which the lessees will have to pay). From then on, it’s a question of the two surveyors discussing things and hopefully arriving at a compromise figure that is acceptable to both sides.
If no agreement can be reached, then the matter can be referred to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal for a decision. This is a relatively informal court presided over by a panel of experts. In practice, however, relatively few cases ever go this far – mainly because both sides have to pay their own tribunal costs, which can often be out of all proportion to the cost of the actual freehold.

for further information on selling renting or auctions go to www.trustintudor.co.uk