The Lord Chancellor's Department has published a draft Bill to introduce commonhold ownership, an English version of the US-style condominium.

Under the proposed legislation, mutual enforceability of rights and obligation would be guaranteed within the building, and certain important duties could not be dispensed with.

Management would democratically be in the hands of the owners, who might, however, decide to employ professionals.

Mortgagees' security would be reinforced by giving the right to intervene on matters of importance.

The offer of freehold rather than leasehold ownership is likely to increase marketability by disposing of the difficulty of mortgaging a lease as its end comes into sight.

Standard documentation will make it easier for property owners to understand their position, will eliminate accidental drafting errors and make management more straightforward.

Finally, a pre-determined winding up procedure will simplify the process of unscrambling mutually dependent rights.Commonhold overcomes the difficulties posed by positive covenants, providing ways to enforce the repair of other parts of the building and the payment of service charges.

The buyer will own part of a building freehold, and will have a stake in the body which owns the common parts.

The documentation largely will be standardised.

Lengthy leases - possibly with mistakes buried in the middle, and repetitively perused every time the property changes hands - will be a thing of the past.

Commonholds will usually be flats, but will not be restricted to residential use and so could be shops, office suites and manufacturing units.The mutual obligations of the owner of units in a commonhold will be settled at the outset.

A 'commonhold declaration', registered at the Land Registry, will define its extent, which must include at least one structurally independent building.

A separate freehold title will be provided for each unit, which can be transferred in the usual way.

Commonhold will not be restricted to new developments; an existing leasehold on a subdivided building can be converted.

All parties with an interest in any part of the property must consent, although it will be possible to get a court order to dispense with the consent of tenants, possibly on payment of compensation, if no more than 20 % of the units are involved.Unit owners will automatically be members of a 'commonhold association' - a corporate body.

The association will own the common parts and will be responsible for providing services and administering the property.

The commonhold declaration will specify the number of votes each owner has, so that the owners of larger units can have greater influence.

There will be provisions to balance the will of the majority and the interests of individuals.

On some important matters, for example when varying the commonhol d declaration, 'qualified unanimity' will be required.

This means that at least 80% of votes must be in favour and a court order must discount other votes.

On some questions, the mortgagee of a unit will be protected by being given the right to cast the unit's votes against the resolution.The unit owners' basic reciprocal rights and obligations, for example insurance, use and access, will be laid down in standard regulations.

Most provisions can be adapted in the commonhold declaration to suit a particular development, but unit owners will be protected against some changes.

An important and unusual requirement is that any amendment must be by textual amendment.

Anything that is added, deleted or changed must be stated directly; variations may not be buried by retyping the entire document.

A great advantage of the standard regulations is that both professional advisers and property owners will know what to expect.

They will not have to read lengthy individual documents for each property.

This should help with conveyancing and everyday management.Commonhold offers another advantage over current leasehold developments.

There will be standard arrangements for winding up, if that becomes necessary.

They are based on the principle that every unit owner has a stake in the site, so if, for example, the building is destroyed by fire the owners of the upper floors are entitled to their appropriate proportion.

Ownership of the individual units will be transferred to the commonhold association, which will be wound up so that the unit owners receive predetermined shares.

Amendments to the various statutory tenant protection codes will allow the association to obtain possession from tenants if redevelopment is needed.Commonhold has been a long time coming.

These particular proposals were first publicly aired nine years ago.

Comments on the draft Bill are invited by 27 September 1996.

Copies are available from the Lord Chancellor's Department's legal advisers branch; tel 0171 210 0714.MAIN POINTS OF THE BILL-- freehold ownership of part of a building;-- better marketability, because there is no lease to run out; -- mutual enforcement of repairing and other obligations;-- standard documentation, offering familiarity and helping efficient management and conveyancing;-- democratic control of management, with protection for minority rights;-- mortgagees' rights, to ensure that the property is good security;-- winding up arrangements guaranteeing the owner's share.Trevor Aldridge QC is a solicitor member of the Law Society's land law and succession committee.

He chaired the inter-departmental working group, which the LCD set up in 1987 to report on commonhold.