Leasehold flat: £1200 payment demand for exterior decoration.

tomstickland

My solicitor is great - I have regular phone contact with her and she's been endlessly messed around by the management company. They ignored three letters from her and then sent a payment demand that ignored everything that she'd said. So I'd put my money on the management company not updating their records properly.

I'll speak to those lease.org people on Monday. If the management company failed to communicate with me through their own incompetance, does that mean I have grounds to claim that they didn't meet the legal requirements?

Meanwhile do we and/or the management company have any grounds to pursue the decoraters on their massive quote?

Meanwhile I've completed letters to:
management company
previous leaseholders
all the other flats

hazeyj

Oh yes. They have procedures they have to follow in order to get their cash. They cant just demand it from you.

You could certainly try to ascertain what has happened with the decorators qoute but they might not talk to you as you are the not the person who pays them directly. Even if the price has been agreed then you/them still may be able to renegotiate cost as the work took much less time than anticipated.

I am pretty sure that you you would have a good case and even betetr if all leaseholders stood together and all asked the same questions rather than just putting up with it.

It could be if you can prove that the management agent/company didnt obtain competative qoutes and inform all residents of the anticpated charges (ie you) then they may be forced to absord the costs themslves.

Is your management company the actual freeholder? Or has the freeholder instructed a managing agent to look after the building on his behalf?

In my flat we all have a share in the management company and then we pay a fee per flat to our managing agent. I am a director of that management company and have regular meeting with them to discuss items such as this. That way we have control (well pretty much) of what is spent and when it is spent on the building. I would have a read through your lease as this will tell you more info.

Also, have you thought about ringing round some decorating firms yourself to see what they would qoute? You will have a better idea of what the qoute should of been.

mentaljessie

Were you informed of proposed works when you purchased the leasehold? I ask this because when I purchased the leasehold of my flat from the local authority, because they had not informed that double glazed windows were due to be installed within the next next 3 years. I didn't have to pay, but they have stung me with a £500 exterior painting bill.

clutton_2

like the last poster - i bought an ex LA flat, and because the council had not informed me that major works were to be done, the maximum they were allowed to charge me was £250 - for which i got full external refurbishment !!

dbuk44

This all sounds very familiar.

I own a leasehold managed by a council. They wanted to replace the windows with double glazing.

They failed to consult w/ tenants, failed to invite public tender for works (legally obliged to e.g to avoid some council member giving the work to a mate), and failed to issue me with a Section 20.

Long and short of it.... I paid the £1200 along with a letter of duress, and then claimed the whole lot back from them in the SCC. Free Windows :-)

tomstickland

OK, thanks for the input.

I'm just printing out the letters: one to managing company, one to previous leaseholders and copies to all the flat owners.

hazeyj

Good on ya. The more people behind you the better. Can you fax a copy and then send confirmation copy in the post (signed for)?

tomstickland

I'm sending my post recorded delivery.
I'm just printing out copies for all of my neighbours. I think a level of coordination will produce the best results.

Just looking at the problems:
1) Current work is very expensive.
2) The management company have not properly communicated with me due to not having my correct address.
3) I've yet to see the letters they have sent, but I suspect that they have not followed the correct procedure.

With 1) I'd like to get the management company to negotiate a more realistic price for the work.
With 2) & 3) it looks like I might have grounds for a Small Claims Court claim. Does this sound about right?

4) In the long term I'd prefer to move over to self management and I believe that over half of the lessees would to.

I've just read the lease and essentially, there's the freeholder (lessor) and then there's 9 leaseholders (lessee's). Each lessee is actually a member of "boakes drive management company ltd". So I assume that the company we call "the management company" are in fact just agents employed by the "boakes drive management company" to conduct our business. Is this correct?

If we wanted to go self management then we'd essentially be sacking the agents and doing the work ourselves. I assume that this involves some legal process whereby it is checked that we have a majority who want to do this and the lessor agrees for this to happen. I assume that alternatively we could look for a cheaper agent.

Very interesting situation anyway.

I've yet to read

tomstickland

Ps, the right to manage thread link is
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=271485

clutton_2

are you willing to be the proactive member of the lessees ?

i would leave the small claims court reference until you get their first response