help..what is happening here?

starlite_2

i hope this is in the right place.....but here goes
we bought our flat around 4 years ago, and extended the lease to 100 years as part of our offer..all has been fine but we are now having problems with the leaseholder. he has asked us many times when we plan to sell (and as we are in a very stale london market at the moment it wont be for a long time!)and he has gotten pretty shirty with us when we said we had no intention of doing so.
we are in a block of converted flats, he owns the two flats below us and the three to the left side, along with one flat on the right, and has the lease to the full building.. just last week we had people coming round and asking to view the flat, as it was apparantly on the market. i asked them where they saw it advertised and they wouldnt say, got angry with us and left. we have also had enquiries from people asking about renting out our flat, and a couple of others calling to arrange a time to view it. this is very odd..i dont understand what is happening and as i dont have the leaseholders details i cannot get in touch to ask of he has anything to do with it. no one will tell us how they found out our place was 'apparntly' on the market, and i have searched local papers and agencies but can't find any advert for our flat. how can this be happening? and is it anything to worry about?
thanks if you can advise as i know its a very strange situation...

trafalgar_2

Hi Imported_ami

I'm a bit confused,he's asked you many times if you are going to sell but you don't know his details

have you got a copy of your lease,the leaseholders details should be on it .

starlite_2

We have a copy of the lease at the time we bought the flat, but he aquired the lease since then, and despite asking many times has not given us an updated version. We only tend to see him when he is dealing with the flats he owns and rents out, which is very rarely, and apparantly he has instructed his tenants not to disclose his contact details. Its all very strange.

dougk_2

You should have the leaseholders details - where do you send the ground/rent or service charge too? If he phones make sure you get them - do you not even have a phone number? Legally I think this has to be provided so speak to the other tenants again.

I would find out his details and offer him the property for about 150% of its current value!

I think what the leaseholder is trying to do is sell or own the freehold to the whole building and wants you out!

He cansell on his ownership and suspect that getting you out makes it easier for him and potentially gets more for the building, perhaps for redevelopment?

starlite_2

yes he certainly wants us out! we have indeed thought of exploiting this fact for our gain..he he
but we dont actually pay any ground rent so have no formal dealings with him

starlite_2

sorry i got a bit confused with terms here..he is the freeholder therefore owns the lease, but we have a lease for 100 years..

trafalgar_2

imported_ami wrote:

sorry i got a bit confused with terms here..he is the freeholder therefore owns the lease, but we have a lease for 100 years..

your getting me confused now........you are the leasholder/tenant..................he is the landlord


contact these people and they will advice you how to get hold of his details ,a copy of the lease and tell you what he can and can't do....................he can't for instance harrass you ,which is what he's doing IF he is in some way advertising your home or trying to persuade you to move out
http://www.lease-advice.org/livingframe.htm

starlite_2

Well..i don't think we are tenants as such as we own the flat almost outright..we only got a 10% mortgage when we bought it, and we have the lease for 100 years as i said, but he is the owner of the lease..so therefore he surely has no claim over our flat. i am just worried he is using scare tactics to get us out..for example could he suddenly impose a ground rent or service charge which we would have no say over? or could this just be a mix up and another flat in the building is actually on sale and the agency has messed up the address?
i will look at the link you gave me, but its so confusing as to what is actaully going on here

pjd_3

the next time someone comes round to try and view your property call the police and explain to the officers that a few different people have been knocking your door with a story about them buying your property, which you have never put on the market,make the police think that your worried about being burgled, then insist that the police ask who ever has knocked your door to tell them or you where they seen the property advertised or who told them a property was for sale at your address, that way you'll find out if your landlord is harrassing you

trafalgar_2

imported_ami wrote:

Well..i don't think we are tenants as such as we own the flat almost outright..we only got a 10% mortgage when we bought it, and we have the lease for 100 years as i said, but he is the owner of the lease..so therefore he surely has no claim over our flat. i am just worried he is using scare tactics to get us out..for example could he suddenly impose a ground rent or service charge which we would have no say over? or could this just be a mix up and another flat in the building is actually on sale and the agency has messed up the address?
i will look at the link you gave me, but its so confusing as to what is actaully going on here

"Leasehold ownership of a flat is simply a long tenancy, the right to occupation and use of the flat for a long period - the 'term' of the lease. This will usually be for 99 or 125 years and the flat can be bought and sold during that term. "
http://www.lease-advice.org/livingframe.htm

I know the terms are confusing but you are the leaseholder ,that's what you paid for ,your mortgage/cash bought your lease............you will sell on your lease..............he is the landlord (not as in renting a flat)

It probably is just a mix-up with people coming to the wrong flat etc but you really need to get a copy of your lease anyway.

peakseeker

you need a solicitor. If he's that anxious to buy, it may be that , as regard the building, it is worth much more thatn 'the sum of its parts'. You should do your homework, and make sure the solicitor you instruct is experienceed in dealing with long leases. You should also do as much of the legwork as you can first, and definitely the first thing you should do is phone your local land registry,; when he bought the building, his address should have been registered there. How do you even know that he is the owner? He could be anyone, could be just the leaseholder of the other flats for all you know. If you really can't afford a solicitor (to advise initially simply on what is your legal position, what you should do if he starts to try to impose a service charge etc. and what might be the commercial benefit to him of buying your flat) then at least go to a Citizens Advice Centre or Shelter, who may be able to help. And also site down for some slow and painful reading, and READ THE LEASE! You probably wont be able to understand all of it, but it's a beginning!