Small block of 5 flats, management co advice.

Distressed

The lease asks that XY managment company provides block insurance, maintains the building + common parts. However if this company is in the process of being struck off what is likely to happen now? There is no clause in the lease that the responsibility reverts to the freeholder but is that what will happen as standard? Do we want that to happen as then we will be at the mercy of him?

The actual lease for the flat nor the LEASE website do not discuss this eventuality.

As it stands the block is not insured and the common parts do not look like they are being cared for. The freeholder owns one flat in the building, and it seems a relation of his owns another. They have not entered into conversation with us either in writing or at the property, despite various attempts.

Could the freeholder be deliberately trying to create an advantage for himself?

Fire_Fox

"Rights to further information (inspecting accounts and receipts)

As well as receiving the summary, the leaseholder has the right under section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to inspect documents relating to his service charge as a follow-up to provide more detail on the summary. Within a period of six months from receipt of the summary, the service charge payer (or the secretary of a recognised tenants' association) may write to the landlord requiring him to allow access to and inspection of the accounts, receipts and any other documents relevant to the service charge information in the summary and to provide facilities for them to be copied.
Facilities for inspection must be provided within one month of the request, and must be available for a period of two months.
There are further rights of investigation of service charges and management provided by the right to a management audit under the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 and the right to appoint a surveyor under the Housing Act 1996. Full details of those rights are set out in our leaflet 'Appointment of a Surveyor, Management Audits'.
Failure to provide a summary or allow access to further information

Where a landlord fails without reasonable excuse to comply with either a request for a summary or to inspect supporting documents they commit a summary offence on conviction and are liable for a fine of up to £2,500 (level 4 on the standard scale). The local housing authority has the power to bring proceedings, or they can be brought by the leaseholder. Local authorities are exempt from prosecution."

As stated we think you need proper legal advice as I would imagine time is of the essence here. Can't your conveyancing solicitor refer you to one of his colleagues either within or outside his practice that is familiar with leasehold properties? What does your long lease say about disputes? Mine advises appointing a RICS surveyor for arbitration.

I have found it helpful to write letters and quote bits and pieces of the legislation at our managing agents. I'll take a bet your landlord doesn't know the Landlord-Tenant Act 1985 and having a solicitor quote that he commits a summary offence (see above) by not providing information the landlord will s**t a brick.

If your conveyancing solicitor can't recommend a colleague then really you need a new conveyanicing solicitor as he is not acting in your best interests by working on a case he does not understand! Speak to LEASE about whether the landlord is responsible for managing the place now that the managing agents have gone bust.

"You can contact us using our online enquiry form or you can speak to one of our advisers by calling 020 7374 5380 Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9:30-5:00."

You won't be at the mercy of anyone unless you allow yourself to be at their mercy. The landlord or a new managing agent will have a legal responsibility to maintain the property to a "reasonable standard". You may have to fight for this to be carried out - I am three years down that road - but if you put the effort in to understand the legislation better than your landlord you will have the upper hand. This is going to be a long road but will massively increase the value of your investment. There's no such thing as a free lunch!!

Fire_Fox

My solicitor tells me that my buyer's solicitor regards the lease as defective and must be varied before s/he will allow the flat to be purchased. How do I go about varying the lease?

In these circumstances it is advisable in the first instance to seek a variation by agreement with the landlord. There are procedures to vary a lease by an Application to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. As this procedure provide limited grounds to vary a lease and is time consuming it is probably not suitable in circumstances where you require the variation to be undertaken with some urgency.

My Landlord refuses to vary the terms of my lease. Can he do this and is there a way that I can force him/her to vary the lease?

The landlord can object to a variation of the lease. An individual party to a lease can make an application to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) to vary the lease under the provisions of Part 4 Section 35 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. However the grounds for a compulsory lease variation are limited. The grounds under which you can make an application to vary a lease to a LVT are:

1. The lease has inadequate provisions relating to the repair/maintenance of the flat or building.
2. The insurance provisions of the lease are inadequate.
3. The lease has inadequate provision for the repair/maintenance of any installation required for a reasonable standard of accommodation of any flat within the building.
4. The lease has inadequate provision for providing any service required for a reasonable standard of accommodation of any flat within the building.
5. The lease has inadequate or no provision for the recovery of money from a party to the lease spent on maintaining the building by another party to the lease.
6. The computation of a service charge detailed in the lease is inadequate. An example would be where a service charge proportion expressed as a percentage in all of the leases in respect of a building does not add up to 100%.

http://www.lease-advice.org/wizard/?step=33