Ground Rent - LL Wanting Payment to Someone Else

martindow

A friend makes annual ground rent payments to the LL of her flat. This year's request asks for cheques to be made payable to a different name but sent to the usual address.

I have two worries about this:

1 LL could claim later on not to have received the money
2 I presume this is some sort of tax fiddle

Any advice on what she should do?

Fire_Fox

Pay the ground rent to the landlord, quoting the section of the long lease! Everything leasehold here:
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

clutton_2

simply write back and ask for the landlords writtten authority for the rent to be made payable to the third party.... this happened to me a couple of years back ... they sent me the authority... no problem

it may not be a fiddle - it may be the LL has decided to use an agent.....

roger196

The freehold reversion may have been sold to newco. Ask old LL to confirm that this is correct and check his signature against any letters you have from last year. Ask for receipt for amount paid if you are in any doubt.