Chief Rent charge...help!

youcantakemyland

Before I go into this, I completely understand that anything said here does not constitute binding legal advice. I could do with some help however.
In certain pockets of the UK, it seems there is a a scenario by which, certain individuals have a right to enter your property and occupy it without recourse through the courts. I have been threatened with exactly this.
3 years ago a letter popped through my door asking for unpaid chief rent. This is not ground rent, my property is freehold and I own the land on which my property (which i also own) stands. They were asking initially for around £30. That is, 6 years back dated chief rent and a late payment fee.
Now, any rational person in this day and age is not going to just handover their hard earned without asking "you wot mate?" I wrote back and asked for proof. They just resent an invoice and no proof that I owe them anything. Digging around, it seems they are not obliged to offer proof. Last year I was sent another demand for payment. I tried several times to telephone this company. I couldn't get through. No voicemail to leave a message, no email address or website. Just a letter asking for money.
Fast forward, I have received a solicitors letter demanding £570. I have 21 days to pay or one of two things will/can happen. They will either attach a 99 year lease to my property (devaluing it and making it hard to sell) or they will enter my property (that I own remember - i don't rent) and remain there till all fees and expenses are paid. Further, should I not pay I have been "warned" that the fees could escalate to between £3,000 and £5,000.
I am admittedly scared.
This dates back to an antiquated act in 1888 where if you wanted to set up homestead on farmer bobs land, he'd let you and give you the land (if you couldn't afford to buy outright) as long as you paid him a chief rent charge...that's my understanding. The obligation is on you to know who it is you have to pay. In that day and age, under those circumstances I guess that seems reasonable.
However, in 2016, unscrupulous, insidious parasites buy up these lease holds and chief rent charges and hold legitimate home owners to ransom - essentially legalised bullying and racketeering.
I'm speaking with citizens advice Monday as well as writing back to the solicitors with a cheque for the unpaid chief rent (£18) pointing out that I only ever asked for proof that they are owed this charge.
Throw into the mix that, many people pay their chief rent charge only to find A N other person popping claiming it's owed to them and you owe them the arrears - not the person you thought you were paying.
I am at my wits end. Christmas just round the corner and this could seemingly at best wipe out my Christmas fund for the kids or at worst, leave me homeless till I can settle - along with a potential £5,000 debt.
Is there anything I can do.
Any help or pointers or (non binding, not really advice) advice would be most appreciated.

agrinnall

You only have to hang on for another 21 years and the charge will be extinguished.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_rent

Or buy it out now.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rentcharges

youcantakemyland

Thanks for your response.

In all the frantic info gathering I managed to find those things out. My worry is more around the inequitable fees and the fact they have a legal right to evict me - it took a while to find this but it looks like its true...or at least it seems that way.

That's what I can't get my head around. Evicting a non rent paying tenant from a rental household is fraught with difficulties (at least that's my understanding), yet as a faithfully mortgage paying how owner that owns the land my house is built on, it seems that these people can evict me from the house I own and there's not much I can do.

Or is there something I can do?

CBeardsworth

I'm afraid I can't help but I would just like to add that this is insane and I'm really sorry that you are going through this.

jrrowleyws

http://www.cluttoncox.co.uk/site/blog/conveyancingblog/rentcharge-loophole-abuse-in-bristol-closed.html

This case may be somewhat reassuring to you. Essentially, if they try to impose a lease on you take them to court! It sounds like you have a reasonable amount of protection and shouldn't get screwed over by this.

I hadn't heard of it before so thanks for your thread, has made for some interesting and surprising reading!

youcantakemyland

I saw that link...so yes thank you I'll read through again.

I should say that the "solicitors" involved are JB Leitch, A name it seems some on these forums are very familiar with. Nothing but bully's so it seems

david1951

How do they justify the increase from £30? Costs?

They have a duty to mitigate costs and can't just charge you whatever they want as a penalty. Even £570 is pretty big for costs involved in getting a solicitor to send a letter.

I don't know anything about the chief rent, sorry. Maybe try to get a local or national newspaper on your side and see if that helps. If other people in the area are getting the same letter you could pool your resources and employ a solicitor to act for you all.

G_M

First off, you should have been aware of the Chief Rent from when you bought - or did you inherit, or do your own conveyancing?

I assume the CR is refered to in your title? Is the property registered and if so what does the Title show? If the property is unregistered, do you not have the Deeds?

What is the exact wording?

Next I'm bemused why you did not take action 3 years go when the issue first arose, to verify whether the CW was in fact due, and to whom. As you've found, these things have a habit of not going away, and having ignored it, you now have the stress of dealing with it urgently.

Whilst you can certainly do some research via the links/suggestions you get here, I would forget CAB. They are unlkely to be specialist enough to help.

Go and see a decent local conveyancing solicitor.

youcantakemyland

When I received the original demand, I wrote back asking for proof that it is them I owe the chief rent to. They did not provide proof. The just sent another invoice.

The chief rent is referred to in my deeds, but the trust who claim the deed is owed to is not referred to. The last person to whom it was payable is dated at 1972 and is not the same as the company claiming I owe them the chief rent.

I am not querying that I owe chief rent. I asked the company saying I owed to them for proof. There are many instances of people paying chief rent to party A, only to find a demand later on from party B saying that they actually owe it to them - and then home owners find themselves slapped with arrears and late fees.

I do not believe, since the company or persons are not referred to in any way shape or form in my titles deeds, that it is unreasonable to simply ask for proof. None was forthcoming.

moneyistooshorttomention

What does your mortgage lender have to say about this?

Whilst you still have a mortgage - then they get to have a say as well about property that they part-own.

I find it difficult to believe that this firm could manage to throw the mortgage holder out of what would be (partly) their own home too?

moneyistooshorttomention

I would imagine your worst case analysis situation would be them taking you to small claims court - where you would hand the judge:

- lots of written proof that you have asked them to prove you owe them the money

- copies of all Deed type paperwork you have in relation to the house (ie proving there's nothing about this on that)

- copy of letter you have sent them (and hand-delivered to them!!) stating you intend to purchase the rest of this term mentioned (ie till 2037) - provided they provide proof they are actually entitled to the money.

- copy of letter from your lender (eg stating their interest in the property etc etc and that they are unaware of any such charge).

Fully agree with asking neighbours if such an attempt to extort money has been made on them as well.

Hmmm...what you might usefully do is put up a post about this on the most suitable Facebook group for your local area - asking if anyone else has had this sort of demand made. Safety in numbers...and I bet you're not the only one they are trying this on...