Selling my flat

Alonso33

I'm going to speak to my solicitor on Monday but desperately hoping someone here can give some advice/pointers so thanks in advance for any replies, much appreciated!!
I bought my flat 3 years ago and there is laminate wooden flooring throughout, this was here when I bought it.
Ive put the flat up for sale recently, accepted an offer, and had an offer accepted on a small house near by.
Everything was going perfectly until I got an email from the management company today to inform me they would block the sale of my flat unless I removed the laminate flooring as the lease states that the flat should be carpeted.
After checking the lease they are correct, however this was here when I moved and was not raised as in issue, also over half of the 60 flats in the building have laminate flooring. This was raised as an issue by a tenant not long after I moved in and the management company wrote to all residents. I still have the letter and in this letter they acknowledged this fact and stated that due to the number of flats involved and the behaviour of the previous Directors that this part of the lease was not enforceable and that they would be taking no action with regards to the laminate flooring.
This was over 2 years ago.
I am now in the position of losing my sale and the house I am buying as I cant afford to spend £1000 on new flooring.
Can I challenge this on the grounds that I didn't put it in?
Surely if they are going to enforce the letter of the law then they must enforce it against everyone or no-one.
Please help
Thanks

Hoploz

I suppose it's hard to enforce on so many flats all at the same time ... The only way they have to control anything is in this way, one by one.

You not having fitted it is irrelevant, you are the current leaseholder and as such you've agreed to adhere to the terms.

Laminate flooring is usually not allowed in flats, it is a pretty standard clause. The reason being the noise problem it causes to other residents.

Alonso33

Hello, thanks for the reply
I agree, its near impossible for them to inforce this on 30+ flats which is why they have decided to leave it.
If i'd put the flooring in myself, or it had been raised as an issue when I bought the flat, I wouldnt feel so aggrieved by it.
The main reason that I'm so annoyed by it as they are picking and choosing when to apply the rules which just seems wrong to me, the rules should apply to all residents and not just the ones they think they have the best chance of enforcing it against.
I do accept that on my own part I have been a bit naïve in not checking the rules in full.
To put this into context, several flats with laminate flooring have sold over the last 6 months, at least one of which still has the laminate flooring and one of my neighbours has recently had this fitted in his flat.
In going to speak to my solicitor to check if the management company can pick and choose which residents the rules apply to as unless I can find some extra cash this is going to kill the purchase of my new house

Mallotum_X

Have you reminded them of the letter?

Alonso33

Hello, yes, ive sent them a scan of the relevant part of the letter and offered to send them a scan of the full letter if needed.
The problem is the management company don't work weekends so will probably need to wait till Monday for a reply.
I'm thinking they don't have a leg to stand on if they refuse to enforce the rule on all residents but will have to wait for their reply.

peter_we

You are probably going to have to remove the laminate flooring if you want to sell it.

If they want and can block you they will do so. They left it because they know they can enforce it whenever any leaseholder attempts to sell.

that this part of the lease was not enforceable and that they would be taking no action with regards to the laminate flooring.

Except blocking any sale...

Alonso33

Hello, thanks for the reply, I'm starting to think you may be right and that I'm going to have to 'bite the bullet' and pay for the new flooring.
From what i've gathered from the management company they are enforcing this on the direct instruction from one of the directors who has sent them details of my flat (including the pictures of the laminate flooring) from Right-move (we haven't yet got to the point where the buyers solicitors have written to the management company).
Its incredibly frustrating as I'm pretty sure that the Director involved is a newly appointed Director who the management company have previously admitted was appointed without the necessary consultation of the residents.
I'm just not sure whether its worth fighting this and risking losing the sale or paying out a £1000 which I desperately need towards the cost of renovating my new house which does need modernising/new central heating.
Ill have to wait and see what my solicitor says I guess, but can see this ending with me a grand out of pocket.
Could be a (very expensive) lesson learned.
Thanks for the replies.

peter_we

Yes, you have no choice. The only thing they can do is block your sale to force you to comply because the lease is unenforceable. The other leaseholders will be presented with the same choice and its logical to be honest.

irector involved is a newly appointed Director who the management company have previously admitted was appointed without the necessary consultation of the residents..

Completely irrelevant

All they can do is block you when you want to vary the lease. So you can completely ignore them unless you want to sell.

You are free until you want them to do anything,

tlc678910

As you have a formal letter saying that the laminate floor clause would not be enforced and they would be "taking no action" you could try pushing the point that "taking no action" is not the same as blocking the sale of flats with laminate! (Unless the letter says this will happen of course).

You could try saying that if your sale falls through due to their putting a block on the sale or the time taken in sorting it out you will take them to small claims to recoup your costs as you have a formal assurance that no action would be taken re laminate.

Maybe worth a try - they could just throw in the towel in the face of your evidence that they have done a uturn.

Good luck
Tlc
- your buyer just may not want carpet and if they know hard floors are banned and this is their preference consider pulling out, after all they chose your flat because they liked it.

davidmcn

tlc678910 wrote: »

Maybe worth a try - they could just throw in the towel in the face of your evidence that they have done a uturn.

I suspect they're entitled to u-turn as many times as they like, unless this letter constitutes a formal variation of the lease. Many leases specifically state that a history of turning a blind eye to breaches, or informal correspondence, won't be construed as meaning that obligations have been permanently waived.

[Deleted User]

I think your £1000 cost for replacing the laminate with carpet is a bit over the top. Just buy the cheapest useable foam backed carpet you can find, leave the laminate in place, lay the carpet over the top and leave the next owner to decide what to do about the flooring.