Property leasehold

victoriashaw_

I have recently moved into a flat, I own the property, but it is under freehold, as part of this agreement I pay a service charge each month, to ensure the maintenance of communal areas, electricity bills, and such like....

There are quite a few problems with the communal area, for example: there is a broken light switch cover where wires are on show, carpet is shabby and stained, and the rail is missing banisters...

I have contacted the leaseholder regarding these issues, i am wanting some advice as to how to move forward. a synopsis of his response is below:

I agree listed items are essential repairs, but he said that the service charge cost just covers the monthly costs and he'd struggle to pay extra for the additional items. He suggests that each flat owner places £100 into a pot and we can discuss how this money gets spent in a homeowner meeting. I was under the impression that the agreed service charge should have taken into account repairs of the building, and that the lease holder should take full responsibility?

Could you please advise as to how i could take this forward?

Guest101

victoriashaw_ wrote: »

I have recently moved into a flat, I own the property, but it is under freehold, as part of this agreement I pay a service charge each month, to ensure the maintenance of communal areas, electricity bills, and such like....

There are quite a few problems with the communal area, for example: there is a broken light switch cover where wires are on show, carpet is shabby and stained, and the rail is missing banisters...

I have contacted the leaseholder regarding these issues, i am wanting some advice as to how to move forward. a synopsis of his response is below:

I agree listed items are essential repairs, but he said that the service charge cost just covers the monthly costs and he'd struggle to pay extra for the additional items. He suggests that each flat owner places £100 into a pot and we can discuss how this money gets spent in a homeowner meeting. I was under the impression that the agreed service charge should have taken into account repairs of the building, and that the lease holder should take full responsibility?

Could you please advise as to how i could take this forward?

You are the leaseholder.

They are the freeholder.

libf

victoriashaw_ wrote: »

I have recently moved into a flat, I own the property, but it is under freehold, as part of this agreement I pay a service charge each month, to ensure the maintenance of communal areas, electricity bills, and such like....

There are quite a few problems with the communal area, for example: there is a broken light switch cover where wires are on show, carpet is shabby and stained, and the rail is missing banisters...

I have contacted the leaseholder regarding these issues, i am wanting some advice as to how to move forward. a synopsis of his response is below:

I agree listed items are essential repairs, but he said that the service charge cost just covers the monthly costs and he'd struggle to pay extra for the additional items. He suggests that each flat owner places £100 into a pot and we can discuss how this money gets spent in a homeowner meeting. I was under the impression that the agreed service charge should have taken into account repairs of the building, and that the lease holder should take full responsibility?

Could you please advise as to how i could take this forward?

Is there no sinking fund as part of the fees that you pay?

eddddy

You're the leaseholder. It sounds like your freeholder is fairly "hands off".

However the repairs are done, you and the other leaseholders will have to pay for them.

So you can push the freeholder to collect, say, £100 from each leaseholder and get the work done (using his/her choice of tradesmen, choice of carpet etc, and maybe charging an admin fee).

Or you can get together with the other Leaseholders and sort it out yourselves (as the freeholder suggests). You might save money if one of them is into DIY.

But if the other leaseholders won't cooperate with you - your only choice is to force the freeholder to do it.

princeofpounds

I think you have a misconception over how the freehold-leasehold relationship works.


It is not like a normal commercial service, where you pay a pre-agreed amount and expect certain things to be delivered as a result.


The relationship is governed by a lease document, which can vary significantly in the specifics, but generally-speaking allocates responsibilities between the two parties.


Typically, freeholders manage things (and often can take a fee for doing so), but you as leaseholders pay for it*. Given it seems an extra £100 seems a remarkable sum then I wouldn't expect there was much available to be spent on building maintenance.


Best practice is to run a sinking fund, to which typically 3 or 4 digit sums are paid into annually, so that when large expenses come up (roof repairs, new windows etc.) they don't appear as a surprise.


So don't think if you pay peanuts you are going to get more than peanuts in repairs. The freeholder isn't going to spend his money on it out of the goodness of his heart, though you have to check up that he has been spending the money he has taken properly. If it was a fee he is entitled to take, he can keep it. If not, it should have been spent on maintenance or saved as appropriate. And you also want to be sure he has been insuring the building.


Read your lease. Understand what it responsibilities it places on both parties.


Suggest you also go to lease-advice.org to learn more.


* If leaseholders aren't happy with how things are managed, then they can defend themselves in various ways, one of which is taking on the right to manage themselves. But we don't yet know if that is applicable in your case.

techno12

Sounds like the place I'm in.

We've never had a sinking fund, so every 7 years the terms of the lease state that the whole building must be repainted. This results in scaffolding and last time the bill for each leaseholder was £4k. Another one is due now and we're estimating £5k - £8k as there's other work to do (gutter replacement etc).

On top of this there's the occasional ad-hoc request, eg part of our large garden wall needed to be repaired last year. Cue £250 bill.

We've now completed the 'right to manage' process as the bills were getting out of hand (the freeholder was appointing 'expensive' contractors) - and we're also starting a sinking fund, though this means an extra £500 a year initially.

Expensive stuff...

G_M

techno12 wrote: »

Expensive stuff...

Though if you owned a freehold house, it would still need painting, gutters and garden walls repaired and you'd be soley responsible for that.

Ownership is expensive, whether freehold or leasehold.

Private renting is the answer - leave all that to your poor landlord...........