Council charging for work not done - 5 years late!

D_Dickenson

Today I received a bill from the council for over £2,500 for refurbishment to our block of 10 terraced houses. The work was done between 2004 and 2007! To make matters worse most of the breakdown of the bill details work that was not done on my house. I remember the council putting up scaffolding and painting the windows of the council owned houses but not the ones that were right to buy owners. Over £1500 of the £2500 is detailed as scaffolding and window painting.

I don't mind paying the rest which is for asphalting/general things but it sounds unfair that I should have to pay for work not done on my property. I had to paint my windows the following year, at great risk with no scaffolding, the bits I could not reach are still not done!

It also seems unfair they can demand £2500 with one months notice given that the work was done at least 4 years ago!

erdd2

I presume you were an owner at that time and will have proof, if so write to council advising them of this (yes they will have a record of this but you surely don't want them checking such little details do you they got better things to do fighting for their pension!). Keep a paper trail, do not rely on phone. Also advise you will pay when you receive the amended invoice (then keep the money gathering pots of interest and sit back.

You will receive all sorts of different boll ox from various sources to which you tell them to put it in writing and follow up each one with a reminder of your position....do not waiver from this, even when they threaten with court as wont they look good taking you to court for money you don't owe....courts are clogged with similar and the bench is pee'd off with councils doing this.

Even if council had painted your windows....without following due process (discussion/notice/agreement) they have no credible legal argument, but believe me, the !!!!! will argue all the same.

Usual council service of excellence!

erdd2

Oh and you also have the 5 year rule to back you regards not paying, in fact this may be worth considering in not paying them anything....date of work the main factor of course.

clutton_2

the statute of limitations legislation is 6 years... so any work done prior to todays date in 2004 cannot be chargeable to you.

RabbitMad

I'm assuming you have a leasehold property. Therefore the following should be useful. Its in 4 parts:

A: With effect from 31 October 2003, unless certain consultation procedures were followed, landlords were restricted to fixed sums which could be recovered from tenants for certain service charges. Those limitations are:

1. if the costs of ‘qualifying works’ payable by the tenant was more than £250 in any service charge year, the limit on those works was £250;

2. if part of the service charge amount included what is known as a qualifying long term arrangement (a contract under which services will run over 12 months and the tenant’s contribution of those works would exceed £100 in any service charge year), the limit is £100.


B: Section 20B of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 prevent a landlord from recovering any service charges that were incurred more than 18 months before a demand for payment was made.


C: Section 153 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (now s21B Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) requires that any demand (or reminder demand) for payment of any service charge must be accompanied by a summary of the rights and obligations of the tenant in relation to the service charge. This requirement is only effective from 1 October 2007. Those rights and obligations are set out in a set of prescribed wording which covers around two pages of A4.
This requirement does not affect pre-October 2007 demands but it does apply to all demands made after that date (ie 2008, 2009 and onwards). The requirement means that a tenant is entitled to withhold payment for any demands lacking the prescribed wording, and the LL cannot claim interest.


any demand more for debt occuring more than 6 years ago are statute barred anyway and are not reclaimable.

So across all of these points you should be able to craft a letter to the council telling them where to go.

adouglasmhor

Re; above, 5 years if in Scotland.

D_Dickenson

RabbitMad wrote: »

I'm assuming you have a leasehold property. Therefore the following should be useful.

Thank you all for your detailed responses - it will take me a little time to digest and understand it all fully.

But to try and clarify the above I believe I am the freeholder of the property (that's what I understood when I bought it) however the letter demanding payment is addressed to the 'Leaseholder' but then later on the same page it says 'charges under the terms of your Freeholder agreement' and then on the next page is says 'payment is due within one month according to the terms of your lease' and the name of your landlord is 'The Mayor & Burgesses of the London Borough of Southwark'.

Is there a big difference between Leaseholder and Freeholder?

RabbitMad

D_Dickenson wrote: »

Is there a big difference between Leaseholder and Freeholder?

Yes there is. If you are a freeholder could there be some other covenant you entered into when you bought?

I think your first task is to establish if you own a lease or the freehold. Once you know that your next steps will be clear.

Leaseholder: - refer them to section 20B of what ever as the cost were incurred more than 18 months earlier.

Freeholder:- Check with your solicitor who represented you when you bought or check what documentation you have. Then contest any bills with the council or pay up if you genuinely owe the money.

D_Dickenson

Thanks - I have confirmed I am the freeholder.

I emailed the council and they have had a lot of enquiries from others in my position. They say
"On checking some of the Transfer of Parts, it was found that we may not be able to recharge some freeholders for part/all of these works."

so we will have to wait and see what they decide in due course. Hope it doesn't take another 5 years!

adouglasmhor

D_Dickenson wrote: »

Thanks - I have confirmed I am the freeholder.

I emailed the council and they have had a lot of enquiries from others in my position. They say
"On checking some of the Transfer of Parts, it was found that we may not be able to recharge some freeholders for part/all of these works."

so we will have to wait and see what they decide in due course. Hope it doesn't take another 5 years!

No hope it does, it will be well and truly time barred by then.

D_Dickenson

They have sent through a new set of accounts already.

It includes the line 'I apologise for the error and can confirm that all freeholders under this contract will not be pursued for any costs relating to window works.'

The new demand is under £500 which is more than two thousand less than the previous. So I'm happy to pay that. But it does leave me thinking may be it was all a plan to help persuade us to pay a bill that was 5 years old - hit us with a big bill then when the revised one comes through we are relieved and just pay up.

Still no complaints, probably just incompetence so I'll cough up and forget about it.