property law question

[Shabs]

Hopefully somebody here can help. When selling a leasehold property, the landlord needs to fill out a questionnaire, they are able to charge to do this.

1) How long after they complete the questionnaire and after the sale is completed can they decide to charge you? Is there a limit or can they bill months / years later?

2) What is the average charge for this service (property value £500K)

thanks

Shabs

[Piglet]

Residential or commercial?

My Resi freeholder sent me a bill for providing details to my purchaser when I sold. I told him to take a hike (on my lawyer's advice) as there was nothing in the Lease that allowed him to charge for this service. Does your lease provide for the freeholder to charge?

He went away....

[Shabs]

Residential

I do not believe that it does, my lawyer is useless and advised me that "Normally the landlord can charge a small fee". Now, 3 months after I have completed and settled the account with the useless lawyer, I get an email from him saying the Landlord wants £250!!!

My first response is to ignore it. If he pushes me, I will tell him to get lost. Worst case I guess he can sue me

Shabs

[Piglet]

I haven't done resi conveyancing for years so I'm out of date with regard to it but my view was that the lease forms my contract with the freeholder and in the absence of any provision for a charge to be made I wasn't planning to pay.

My solicitor was of the same view.

Mine was a flat in a small building that didn't have a full managment agreement, just a service charge provision where I paid X% of outgoings.

I suspect that in new builds with extensive managment provisions there will be a provision that allows the managment company to charge.

I'd ask the freeholder to confirm on what basis he is billing you and can he point you to the provision in the lease.

[Wings]

I suspect that whilst there may not be any provision laid down for the Management Company to make a charge, would it not however be unreasonable for any Leaseholder/Person to expect a Management Company or another person to work for nothing/unpaid.

What I believe therefore needs to be address is whether the £250 charged for the completion of the questioner is reasonable, and whereas I agree with the OP that both the amount and the delay in submitting the account is unreasonable, I suppose the time to question the charge, is at the outset, and not after the works/questioner has been submitted.

Edited by Wings on Monday 4th January 13:43