Deceased leaeholder-Service charges

LizinDevon

Hi
My mother passed away last year and her leasehold retirement flat is on the market so that we can finalise the estate. The housing management company insist on receiving payments from 'us personally' we are the executors too, before the flat is sold; they are not prepared to wait alongside the other creditors such as council tax, edf, dept of work and pensions etc. We are finding this financial request very difficult. They have said they will use Civil procedure 19.8b to take us to court if we don't pay when they say;so do we have to pay. The lease is in our mothers name. I thought that all debts have to be put on hold until the estate assets are brought together, including the funds from the sale of the house, and then the creditors are paid in the first instance.
Any advice would be very much appreciated. we are all very distressed at our mother leaving us unexectedly and this issue is so unpleasent. regards Lis

CH27

Have you asked your solicitor's advice?

BitterAndTwisted

No, you don't have to pay. The sums owed need to paid from the estate of the deceased. This is not your own debt. If there are no funds currently to pay the service charges they will have to be paid from the equity at sale. Refuse to be bullied by the management company

LizinDevon

Thank you CH27
Well last year I tried to research what our situation is in terms of being liable for the estate debts..I contacted the community legal advice team and although they agreed that we shouldn't be personally liable for the debts, they were not probate specialists and were not sure if the housing management company could cease the property if we forfeit on the service charge payments. We can't afford to pay a solicitor to take action. Or i am not sure if a solicitor would take this on and invoice the estate? Most of the advice from the government websites and legal websites suggest that we don't have to pay but throwing in the CP19.8 of which there doesn't offer any guidence to its issue, scares us. So a solicitor may well be the only person that can solve this? regards Liz

CH27

I would suggest asking a solicitor to write to the management company on your behalf.
Ask the solicitor if he will bill the estate rater than you.

LizinDevon

Thank you Bitter and Twisted

There was a little funds left in the estate account and we borrowed from a family friend to try and keep up with the payments. The account now has £10!! We don't want to loose the estates main asset, the flat, to the housing company. The next big installment is September and although they will take it in monthly installments we just can't afford it. I think a solicitor's letter maybe the only way? We quoted from the community legal team solicitor however I guess it didn't work because we are not official enough. Regards Liz

LizinDevon

Thank you CH27

Well my MP wanted to write to them (I asked her for her advice but it pointless really as she isn't familiar with the legal side of things) so i think it is a solicitor and i would like to thank you for re-inforcing my next steps-the solicitor!! Thank you..Liz in Devon

CH27

Let the MP write. It may make them think again.

BitterAndTwisted

The management company can't seize the property for a few quid of unpaid service-charge bills. What they could attempt to do is get a charge placed on the property so that the bills are settled once the property is sold.

Why is it taking so long to sell the property?

Sa-ra-ra-ra

The debt belongs to the property, and since the property is presumably owned by the estate, that's who they will be chasing - unfortunately this is legal, although heartless.

Have a word with the Association of Retirement Housing Managers - www.arhm.org - they may have a better guideline on how to deal with this for you; it can't be the first time a situation like this has arisen.

NAR

As others have said the debt belongs to the property so don't pay it. In my case the property owners are also the Management Company. We unfortunately have had two cases recently where we have had to wait for the sale of the property before getting outstanding service charges from the estate. And we didn't ask for interest.