Ground Rent Issue

Sam_90

Hi,


I moved into an apartment in September 2014 as an owner and was aware that I would be paying ground rent but wasn't sure when or how much it would be.


Fast forward to Feb and I have had just had an email from my solicitor and a debt collector saying I now owe £494 for late payment of a £150 ground rent which should have been paid last September!


I received absolutely NO bills in the post and my solicitor didn't give me any information regarding my ground rent.


Anyone had anything similar or got any advise.


Much appreciated.

m0bov

Check your paperwork. Sol should have provided accounts and a full statement of what u pay and when. Did u not ask about this before u offered?

Richard_Webster

Your solicitorsw should have notified the freeholder of your purchase of the flat. Did they? If not then the freeholders would have been sending demands to the wrong address.

You are kliable for any arrears of ground rent built up by the previous lessee, but then your solicitors should have found out if there were any such arreeras and made sure they were paid at or before completion of your purchase.

ognum

Sam_90 wrote: »

Hi,


I moved into an apartment in September 2014 as an owner and was aware that I would be paying ground rent but wasn't sure when or how much it would be.


Fast forward to Feb and I have had just had an email from my solicitor and a debt collector saying I now owe £494 for late payment of a £150 ground rent which should have been paid last September!


I received absolutely NO bills in the post and my solicitor didn't give me any information regarding my ground rent.


Anyone had anything similar or got any advise.


Much appreciated.

Nooooo, you bought a flat without any knowledge of how much the ground rent is or who you pay it to, no solicitor should let you do this and you should have at least read around house purchasing so you new what to expect!

How did you know the GR wasn't £1000 an annum or even £10000?

Unless you can pin this on your legal team then it's your fight and lack of knowledge is no defence.

m0bov

Did your Sol hold a retainer from both parties to cover arrears? If not, why not?

G_M

Am I liable to pay arrears of ground rent that accrued prior to me purchasing the property?

You would not usually be personally liable for ground rent arrears which accrued prior to you purchasing the property. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. Your conveyancer should therefore ensure that ground rent payments are up to date before you complete the purchase.

Notice for payment of ground rent The leaseholder is not liable to pay the ground rent unless the landlord has demanded it. The demand must be in the prescribed form and must specify:

• the amount of the rent due;
• the date on which the leaseholder is liable to pay it, or if the demand is sent after the due date, the date on which it would have been payable under the terms of the lease.

The date specified for payment must not be less than 30 days or more than 60 days after date of service of the Notice, or before it is meant to be paid in accordance with the lease. It may be sent by post to the address of the house or flat to which it relates, unless the leaseholder has previously notified the landlord of an alternative address.
The Notice of Demand must also include:

• the name of the leaseholder to whom the notice is given;
• the period for which the rent demanded relates;
• the name and address of the person or company to whom the payment is to be made;
• the name and address of the landlord (or agent if applicable) by whom the notice is given;
• certain supporting information, provided as notes to the Notice.

The landlord cannot begin any legal steps for recovery of the rent, including action for forfeiture and possession, unless he has previously served the demand in the correct format, given the correct period of notice, and the leaseholder has failed to respond.

lease advice.

Whether a valid demand made to the previous leaseholder meets the above criteria and is valid on the ne leaseholder I'm not sure. Ask lease advice or perhaps Richard W knows.

Sam_90

Thanks for the replies.


Further to this, apologies for writing at strange times (I'm working nightshifts this week zzzz)...


My sol has come back and said that I was emailed an invoice (addressed to the previous owner) dated for Sept and I have found that email. The invoice wasn't addressed to myself and the sol never in actual words said that I needed to PAY it, they just said pls see ground rent invoice for Sept attached. Given the fact this was a small part of the email where they were asking for me to transfer the final fees of my apartment, it was easy to miss. To add to this, the lettings agent continued to send reminders to the old tenants after the ground rent was never paid.


I think I am going to just pay the £350's worth of late fees but then I would like this looked into. Best option would be the ombudsman I believe? I am not sure who is at fault here most - myself, the sol or the letting agent. Either way it feels that I am the loser out of all of this!

Sam_90

ognum wrote: »

Nooooo, you bought a flat without any knowledge of how much the ground rent is or who you pay it to, no solicitor should let you do this and you should have at least read around house purchasing so you new what to expect!

How did you know the GR wasn't £1000 an annum or even £10000?

Unless you can pin this on your legal team then it's your fight and lack of knowledge is no defence.

I knew the ground rent was £300 p/a

Sam_90

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Your solicitorsw should have notified the freeholder of your purchase of the flat. Did they? If not then the freeholders would have been sending demands to the wrong address.

You are kliable for any arrears of ground rent built up by the previous lessee, but then your solicitors should have found out if there were any such arreeras and made sure they were paid at or before completion of your purchase.

My sol claims they advised the freeholder but yet reminders continuously were sent to the old owners who have clearly just ignored them.

ognum

Sam_90 wrote: »

My sol claims they advised the freeholder but yet reminders continuously were sent to the old owners who have clearly just ignored them.

I suggest you ask your solicitors for evidence that they were informed.

I have always contacted the freeholder myself after completion to ensure they have my full details. Most leases I have read say it is your duty to pay the GR even if the freeholder doesn't ask for it. What does yours say?

G_M

ognum wrote: »

Most leases I have read say it is your duty to pay the GR even if the freeholder doesn't ask for it. What does yours say?

See the advice from Leaseadvice in post 6 above.