Freehold Manager requesting consent to Sublet

Early_Bird_2

See the LeaseholdKnowledge.com/subletting-fees . com site. Can't post the link as I am new.:j


Keep up to date with sub-letting news. A case has recently been heard and ruled on by Judge Bartlett.
Do not let them bully you, read your lease 'properly' as what you see isn't always what you get!
Watch Dispatches Channel 4 on the 20th August at 8.00pm for an indepth story on the private world of freehold landlords...

branchforum

this thread is a bit old but I thought i would post a reply

I have bben asked for this charge and checked the lease which has a provision to obtain consent for "underleasing" and to pay the landord fees reasonably incurred to admister the underlease.

does anyone have a definition of the words underlease or underlet?

Yorkie1

When a person who has a leasehold interest in a property (usually someone who has bought a flat but can arise in other situations too) grants a lease to someone else to rent the property from them, they are underletting / granting an underlease.

madasafishblack

I recently received one of the many computer generated letters from Freehold Managers PLC demanding money as I need their, 'consent to let'. I challenged their demands in writing: 'Can you please specify in which part of my lease it stipulates that I have to gain your consent to let my property?' I waited for four months- and then contacted them (several times) before having a brief email stating to ignore their letter (they admitted there was nothing in my lease they could find which said I needed their consent to let) !!!

This angered me more than anything- they are sending demands for money when they have no evidence to back up their demands! It seems they are just targeting people hoping they wont be challenged. How do they get away with it? What about elderly or vulnerable people who may be intimidated by their letters and pay up straight away? They are acting so unethically.

I would like to know who to complain to about this company. They are nothing short of fraudsters.

Leonard899

For information. Letter (part) received from Freehold Managers January 2013
Subject: Re: Retrospective Letting Notice of Registration ----

"....... write regarding the Lessor's Notice of Registration for subletting on the above Lease which our records show is due for renewal.
As you are aware, as the leaseholder of the above property you are required to notify the Lessor with a Notice of Registration should you sublet the property to a third party.
.........registration fee of £120......"

In my case, sublet details passed in 2009 and according to my lease, no requirement to re-register now or an an annual basis, no change of tenant.

I will challenge should I receive a further demand etc

Ulfar

Leonard899 wrote: »

For information. Letter (part) received from Freehold Managers January 2013
Subject: Re: Retrospective Letting Notice of Registration ----

"....... write regarding the Lessor's Notice of Registration for subletting on the above Lease which our records show is due for renewal.
As you are aware, as the leaseholder of the above property you are required to notify the Lessor with a Notice of Registration should you sublet the property to a third party.
.........registration fee of £120......"

In my case, sublet details passed in 2009 and according to my lease, no requirement to re-register now or an an annual basis, no change of tenant.

I will challenge should I receive a further demand etc

I wouldn't expect to have to pay again either for a renewal or a re-let, once given permission to let then the tenant is irrelevant.

Having said that check your lease very carefully to check.

ReRe33

GarySt wrote: »

I phoned them and explained they had no right to charge it on our block and asked them to write to all the off-site owners they had sent charges to. The woman hung up on me.
I then got the management company to send out a word of warning to all the off-site owners telling them not to fall for it.
They tried this 3 years ago and we just ignored them. Isnt it illegal to obtain monies by deceit?
Our lease says we need permission to sublet from the management company, nothing about 'charging' or 'freeholder'.

Best to ignore them. They are scum.

Hi Gary, what is the latest? did you manage to get them off your back?

I am wondering what to do as they have been sending me letters to pay for the consent fee. My lease states that I need to obtain a consent but it does not mention any charges,

fmplcleaseholder

Hello All, I a new joiner and an unfortunate Freehold Managers PLC (FMPLC) leasehold sufferer. Just to you know that Freehold Managers' subletting fee 'fleecing' campaign goes on. I received a letter asking for fees last Nov. 2012 (standard licence - £210+£120 per tenancy approval, or £400 global licence for 5 years +£60 per tenancy agreement approval). When I questioned where it says so in my lease they went silent for a year (in spite of my repeated phone calls) until this month when they did come up with a clause titled 'Alienation' (mentions 'underletting') which I had missed to spot in my initial trawl of my lease. Now in my defence, my deed lease says nothing about charges or fees or how these are to be calculated, but just to inform FMPLC for their approval. On my request, they have supplied an arbitrary breakdown of (made up)charges, which mean nothing to me. I am going to resist them and have told them that: (1) the lease says nothing about fee/charges, (2) the charges, how ever small, are defrauding the HMRC since individuals will claim these as allowances against rental income, causing the HMRC to loose revenue, so I will be informing them as well, (3) Past and recent LVT case judgements have all stated the non-validity of such charges (unless stated explicitly in the lease), a point FMPLC continue to ignore.

There are other ways (going for the most expensive property insurance premium for example, on which FMPLC get kick-backs running into thousands of pounds Sterling for each block of leasehold flats (not passed back to the paying leaseholders), past LVT case judgement(s) (I know of at least one) that FMPLC have lost) FMPLC fleece their leaseholders and which should also interest HMRC. Comments welcome.

RupertTheCat

I've been getting those letters from Freehold Managers for the last 5 years, plus from some other management companies for other properties. I just shove them in the recycle bin, as does everyone else I know.

influential

Having had a series of these letters over the years, got a new one today from "Diamond Debt Settlement Services" (turns up to be a division of FMPLC) saying they will commence further action under Section 168(4) of the commonhold and leasehold reform act 2002 which may result in a CCJ. Not sure whether to keep ignoring the letters, as punitive charges will be waiting for me if I respond, I'm sure.