I bought a pad, but I was never told about a massive impending Lease bill

simplymegreg

What are the terms of the lease?

The council is presumably the freeholder so they would normally be responsible for the maintenance. However, if the previous occupants were served with a section 20 notice for qualifying works then perhaps your solicitor is negligent for not asking whether any major works were being considered. If a section 20 notice had been served, the vendor can hardly say they weren't aware. It's a disclosure issue.

tim123456789

brasso wrote: »

Did the vendors know that a bill like this was on the way?

This is the big question. Even if they hadn't yet had the bill, if they had an inkling that this was going to happen then they should have declared it. It's a while since I've bought/sold a house but I'm pretty sure you have to declare whether you believe there are bills like this in the pipeline.

What is the charge actually for, and why are the council demanding it? If it's no longer a council house, why do you have to pay this?

Because the council are the MA for the block

and if there is even one property in the block left in council ownership, there is nothing you can do to change that.

Richard_Webster

Your solicitors should have sent a questionnaire to the seller's solicitors for them to forward to the Council (being the equivalent of a managing agent in this case) and that questionnaire should have asked about intended major works.

So:

1. Did they ask about such works?
2. If so, what replies were given?
3. Did you get copies of the replies.

As has already been mentioned this point is nothing to do with searches.

492800

Thanks for the replies forumers.
The whole buying process took a while. So i did wonder at first if these bills appeared after the process had started, so they might not have been lying when they ticked a box on one of the forms saying they didnt know about any impending work.

The charge is to replace the water tank in the loft (2 of them for 12 flats) they are also going to go Health and Safety crazy and install ladder and padlock (£1,000), lighting (for £9,000!) 2 handrails (£700!) etc etc and all the other bits and pieces. Total bill is around £45,000 to 50,000. my share is <£4,000 ish (yes you are reading that correctly!! it's day light robbery!
you can see my thread here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4330071

-I have since found out that Major works were planned and an estimate was sent out in July sometime. This outlined the Water tanks.
-From all my paperwork i had from my solictor I have the pre-assignment Notice paperwork from the council (dated 7 August) saying that no works were being planned (except some external decorating).

I really want to know why the council didnt have it on their paperwork that my solicitor received. How can this be?!

I have yet to contact my solictor. I guess that is my next step.

Sponge

Wow. That's amazing!I hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction and let us know. Good luck!

LandyAndy

492800 wrote: »

The charge is to replace the water tank in the loft (2 of them for 12 flats) they are also going to go Health and Safety crazy and install ladder and padlock (£1,000), lighting (for £9,000!) 2 handrails (£700!) etc etc and all the other bits and pieces. Total bill is around £45,000 to 50,000. my share is <£4,000 ish (yes you are reading that correctly!! it's day light robbery!
you can see my thread here: .

Soon it will be electrically lit robbery too.;)

492800

Question:
What would be the situation if the paperwork from the vendors was true when they signed it (saying they were not aware of any impending work) BUT a month later the notice of works arrived on their doorstep BUT this was 2 months before completion. Is anyone liable in this situation?

or just really lucky timing on their part?

blckbrd

492800 wrote: »

I really want to know why the council didnt have it on their paperwork that my solicitor received. How can this be?!

...Because someone missed it!

IME water tank renewal is carried out on a rolling programme across the borough so the information would have been held by technical sections of the council at the very least. It should have been identified in the pre-assignment pack and a copy of the notice provided.

Usually this is consulted on under a long term agreement so leaseholders can't nominate a contractor. If this is the case, it will be a Schedule 3 notice. Rarely, works may be planned at short notice because of a maintenance issue and often packs carry a disclaimer to that effect. Don't think that's likely here as there's more than one block involved.

Where the council has failed to provide info on works (where it's available) again IME the charge is limited to £250.

Ask the council to send a scan via email of the pack so it's contents can be compared with what your solicitor received. Don't know about the vendor's duty to disclose but if the concil messed up you shouldn't be penalised.

492800

£250!! really! now that could be pinnacle to my situation!

blckbrd

492800 wrote: »

£250!! really! now that could be pinnacle to my situation!

Haha! Cross fingers then... Have seen tens of thousands not charged - doesn't make the officer responsible popular.

The £250 is the s20 consultation threshold. The omission is viewed in the same way as defective/absent consultation.