Unsold property

Oldernotwiser

LMCD wrote: »

If the property is vacant and not getting use of it I don't see how its right that they are charging.. have you tried seeing what the CAB have to say?

Maintenance has to be done whether a flat is occupied or not.

January20

LMCD wrote: »

If the property is vacant and not getting use of it I don't see how its right that they are charging.. have you tried seeing what the CAB have to say?

Management charges in a block of flats are for maintenance on the block, things like repairs, cleaning of shared areas, lighting in the shared areas etc, even cutting the grass if the property has any. Nothing to do with whether a flat is occupied or not!

The maintenance is owed by whoever owns the flat. If the flat is still part of the estate and not owned by the OP or anybody else, then I don't see what the management company can do really, apart from wait until the flat has been sold. OP have you written to the management company explaining that you are not the new owner of the flat?

jackyann

Have you talked to the Probate Office?
I am not certain of the rules in this situation, but I do think that they should be your first port of call. We have always (4 times now) found them very helpful.
I have in mind that the management company can make a charge on the estate, and will be paid when the flat sells; I'm really not certain, but it seems like the kind of thing the Probate Office must deal with all the time.

I would agree with those who say: simply reduce it until it sells - it is the one advantage you have over the other flats that are for sale - and better to have a bit less in your hand now than waiting around for prices to go up.

purple_haze

Nearly all leases such as this contain a provision for re-entry and forfeiture by the landlord/management company in the case of non-payment of service charges.
What this means is that the management company could go to court for an order that the lease be forfeited. The OP could seek relief by offering to repay the service charge arrears in instalments, but it doesn’t sound as if she has the means to do this. So the lease would be forfeited, and the estate/beneficiaries would simply lose the flat.
A management company would generally only commence forfeiture proceedings as a last resort, but if there are several empty flats in the block and some are in arrears, the management company here might be forced to take action as it has legal obligations to the other leaseholders which it may be unable to fulfil if it is not receiving the service charges in full.
So it isn’t the case that the management company can do nothing – it can.
By far the best advice is to drop the asking price dramatically or place the flat up for sale at auction.