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Lease extension not registered
armour
Posts: 311 Forumite
Over 12 yrs ago I bought a flat. It had the original lease (68yrs unexpired) and a condition of the sale was that the seller would organise and pay for a new lease. Fast forward 12 yrs, the freeholder went bust so as a group we, the flat owners looked into leasehold enfranchisement under our section 5 rights. It turned out that Land Registry records showed the original lease. Though the new lease had been purchased from the freehold company, it had not been registered. The solicitor I had used couldn't help me as they had destroyed all paperwork regarding the transaction under their 10yr destruction rule!
When I rooted around in my loft I found some relevent paperwork, including the completion statement from my solicitor which itemises a £40 charge for "registering the new lease"!
I sent this to the solicitor as part of my 'formal complaint' and now they are attempting to register the lease. (6months later it still hasn't been done). Regardless of any compensation due to me, I would like the solicitor to admit it was their mistake, and if it was, to apologise. They won't. I've written a couple of times since the original complaint but they say that due to the lack of paperwork, they can't be sure who's responsibility registering the new lease was. (?) They also state that the normal situation would be that the sellers solicitor, who organised the lease extension, would also register it. They further state that they proceding with registering the lease "at their own considerable expense".
Am I being taken for a mug? If so, what's my next move?
When I rooted around in my loft I found some relevent paperwork, including the completion statement from my solicitor which itemises a £40 charge for "registering the new lease"!
I sent this to the solicitor as part of my 'formal complaint' and now they are attempting to register the lease. (6months later it still hasn't been done). Regardless of any compensation due to me, I would like the solicitor to admit it was their mistake, and if it was, to apologise. They won't. I've written a couple of times since the original complaint but they say that due to the lack of paperwork, they can't be sure who's responsibility registering the new lease was. (?) They also state that the normal situation would be that the sellers solicitor, who organised the lease extension, would also register it. They further state that they proceding with registering the lease "at their own considerable expense".
Am I being taken for a mug? If so, what's my next move?
0
Comments
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Keep the pressure on to get it registered. You could consider buying the freehold and then you can take your own lease to 999 years if you want.0
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I'm afraid we missed the boat regarding our section 5 right to purchase the freehold. I've no doubt that the lease extension will eventually be registered. I have a copy of it myself so no worries there.
My main issue is that I can't see how the solicitor can say there is confusion regarding whose responsibility the registration was, when they have charged me £40 to "register the new lease". Could I be missing something?0 -
Shameless bump.
Can anyone give me any advice on my next move? If there is genuine doubt about who's at fault then fair enough but if not then I want an apology.0 -
Can you complain to the SRA ( I think that's who regulates solicitors).
dfMaking my money go further with MSE :j
How much can I save in 2012 challenge
75/1200 :eek:0
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