Leasehold help

angel6_2

Hello, not sure if this is the right place but need some advice.

My house is leasehold and today I received a letter from a company claiming thats the leasehold was sold and they are to be acting for the owner of the leasehold. Demanding I pay the money to them.

I called them and asked for them to get the new owners to send me a letter verifying that they are acting for them before I pay the money, they have said no they cant do that and their letter should be sufficient.

I had not been told by the previous owners that they had sold it, however contacted Bovis and they advised it had been sold to Hotbed ground rents but they had no idea who this other company were.

I have followed up my call with an email asking for a letter from hotbed ground rents on letter headed paper advising that this company are in fact legit and working for them.

My question is have I done right and can they demand money from me when they are not the legal owners of the lease nor have I been advised from the owners that this company are working for them.

any advise on how to proceed would be great.

sonastin

Sounds like you're doing the right things. Unless they can provide proof that you owe them money, you don't have to pay them anything. You can check on the land registry who actually owns the leasehold and until you receive a request from them to pay the new company you don't have to pay anything at all.

I'm sure someone will come along with more info soon but I have a vague recollection that demands for ground rent have to be in a particular format or you don't have to pay them... (but I think the rent is still owed so when (if!) you receive a correctly formatted demand you have to cough up the lot)

angel6_2

I definatley owe the money, my issue is the company who are asking me to pay it are not the owners of the leasehold. They are saying they are acting on behalf of the owners but I have never had any correspondance from the owners to verify this.

So far they have not responded to my email, I am going to send a letter by recorded post stating the same thing tomorrow aswell.

thanks for your reply x

Here_to_help.

If it's about leasehold then contact the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE). Free advice and its funded by govt.

lease-advice.org

goldbyron

Are they managing agents by any chance who have been instructed by the FH's? I might have this wrong but I was under the impression that you should also have had the opportunity to purchase the freehold if it is being sold (i.e. you would have been aware). I would wait for hotbed to get back to you before you do anything. As long as you have put it in writing that you are prepared to pay and just want confirmation then you are acting quite legally and responsibly to be honest.

tbs624

angel6 - a demand for GR has to be written, and must include spec. information otherwise it's not valid.
It has to have your name, the relevant period for which the GR is being requested plus the actual due date, the amount, the name & address of the Freeholder and if you are requested to pay to a managing agent then their name and address must *also* be included. The due date must be at least 30 days after service of the demand.


As another poster has suggested , have a look at the lease advice web pages