Paid ground rent late, now getting solicitors letters

angel81uk

Looking for some advice if anyone is able to help.

Ground rent on our flat was due to be paid to E&J Estates at the beginning of the year. Due to a number of circumstances (husband being admitted to hospital as an emergency/possible redundancy at work/my own health issues etc) we didn't pay on time. Got an Urgent Action Required letter dated 20th January which included a late payment charge. I paid the full ground rent including late payment charge on the 4th February by bank transfer.

On 5th February I received another letter from E&J Estates (dated 3rd Feb) advising that as they hadn't recieved payment the account had been referred to their solicitors J B Leitch, another £99.60 in fees had been added to cover the landlords costs and that we would also incur further costs as levied by the solicitor.

I stupidly ignored this letter thinking that as I had paid the original ground rent plus late payment fee the day before the matter was dealt with.

Today I have received an email from the J B Leitch. The body of the email says we must pay the original ground rent, late payment fee, admin fees of £99.60 along with £303 of legal fees within the next 10 days. There are then a number of scanned letters attached to the email.

Attachment one is a scanned letter dated 9th February that says their client (E&J Estates) has received part payment (ground rent and first late payment charge) but that we still owe £99.60 in additional charges plus £303 legal fees and must pay within 10 days.

Attachment two is basically a repeat of the email body in letter form also dated 9th February saying we owe the original ground rent plus late payment fee, admin charge of £99.60 and legal fees of £303 and must pay within 10 days.

Attachment three is a cost information sheet which details how to make payment and a list of the work undertaken/due to be undertaken that they are charging the £303 for.

Attachment four is a file titled Summary of rights and obligations - administration charges which I'm not able to open on my iPad.

Can anyone advise on where we stand? I don't dispute we were late making payment, and it's unfortunate that there was a cross over between letter saying it had been passed to solicitors being sent, payment being made and letter re instructing solicitors being received. I could just about scrape together the £99.60 to cover the landlords costs in instructing solicitors. The legal fees I'd really struggle to pay though. The fees they're chasing add up to more than the ground rent in the first place and I find it hard to believe that any legal work was carried out before the payment was made on the 4th.

The annoying thing is the suspicion they're only chasing this so hard as they're currently in the process of trying to sell the freehold. And of course I'm annoyed at myself for not making sure it was paid on time originally and for thinking that because I'd paid it I could ignore the letter saying it had been passed to solicitors.

angel81uk

Bumping for day time readers.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

What does the lease say about late payment charges in terms of fees and timescale? Sounds like they're making it up as they go along. Ask them to provide the relevant paperwork that allows them to keep accruing charges.

Check whether you've got legal advice covered in your home insurance, or at work.

angel81uk

The lease doesn't say anything at all about late payment charges in terms of fees or timescale. This is going to be a long one, but it does say the following the following:

1.4 Yielding and Paying therefor in respect of each year of the Term the Rent such payment to be made in advance on 1st January in each year

Later on it says

8 If the said rents or any part thereof shall at anytime be in arrear and unpaid for twenty one days after the same shall have become due (whether any formal or legal demand therefore shall have been made or not) or if the purchaser shall at any time fail or neglect to perform or observe any of the covenants herein contained and on part of the Purchaser to be performed or observed then in any such case it shall be lawful for the Company or any person or persons duly authorised by it in that behalf to re-enter the Demised Premises or any part thereof in the name of the whole whereupon the Term shall cease but without prejudice to any right of action or remedy of any party in respect of any antecedent breach of any of the covenants by any other party hereto herein contained. Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing the Company shall not exercise the right of re-entry above referred to unless twenty eight days notice in writing of the Company's intention so too do is first given to any mortgagee whose interest in the Demised Premises (which interest shall be subsisting at the date of the Company's said Notice) has been notified to the Company and the unpaid rent or other breach of covenant which shall be specified in the company's said Notice shall not be paid or remedied on expiry of the said Notice

There's also a section that basically says demand for payment etc is sufficiently given if sent through the post by registered letter or recorded delivery or left at the property.

Under the Covenants by the Purchaser with the Company section (the Sixth Scedule) it states:

During the subsistence of the Term to pay the rents hereby reserved and other monies hereby made payable at the time and in manner in which the same are hereby made payable without any deduction (except such as the Purchaser may be required by law to deduct notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary)

14. To pay to the Company on an indemnity basis all costs fees charges disbursements and expenses (including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing those payable to counsel solicitors surveyors and bailiffs) incurred by the Company in relation or incidental to:
14.3 the recovery or attempted recovery of sums due from the Purchaser and any under lessee or other occupier of the Demised Premises whatsoever

Under the Covenants by the Company with the Purchaser and Management Company section (the Ninth Schedule):

The company will (if so required by the Purchaser) use its reasonable endeavours to enforce the covenants obligations restrictions and regulations similar to those contained in the Sixth and Tenth Schedules hereto and entered into or to be entered into by the Owners of other flats on the estate provided that the Purchaser shall indemnify the Company and shall provide such security or deposit for such costs as the Company may reasonable require (I'm not sure this one is relevant at all. For info the tenth schedule is the list of things we can and can't do to/within the flat).

The only other mention of rent or anything relating to it is the info about rent reviews.

angel81uk

I'm guessing section 14 gives them carte blanche to charge what they like when they like with regards to recovering ground rent