LPE1 Form requested by solicitor of other freeholder of my building

tchester

Hi,

I own 50% freehold on a house split into two flats. The downstairs flat is being sold and the solicitor has asked me to fill out the LPE1 form. I have a couple of questions regarding this if anyone can help:

-Am I obliged to fill it out?
-Is is best to ask the managing letting agents to do it?
-Should I run it by my solicitor?
-Is it a pretty standard form with no potential side effects?

Any help appreciated - thanks!

G_M

tchester wrote: »

-Am I obliged to fill it out?
-Is is best to ask the managing letting agents to do it?
-Should I run it by my solicitor?
-Is it a pretty standard form with no potential side effects?

- Yes
- What on earth has this to do with letting, and how would a letting agent be able to complete it?
- if you have concerns
- yes it's standard. Potential side effects are
* the sale falls through because you scare the seller off
* you get sued for libel for making untrue statements
* you get convicted of fraud for trying to make money out threats to answer falsely

Seriousel, be a good freeholder and answer in a timely manner, with full and acurate responses. If you must, charge a reasonable fee for your time.

tchester

Thanks for the reply & info. Do intend to fill out and return, just wanted a bit more info and background about it. It's a form for properties owned by landlords and management companies and much of it asks about rent etc.

G_M

tchester wrote: »

Thanks for the reply & info. Do intend to fill out and return, just wanted a bit more info and background about it. It's a form for properties owned by landlords and management companies and much of it asks about rent etc.

'Landlord' = the freeholder. He is the leaseholder's landlord.

The form should be completed either by the freeholder ('landlord') or by a management company if the freeholder has appointed one.

This has nothing to do with letting, which is the granting of short term leases - typically 6 or 12 months, where a letting agent manages the property for the landlord (who if it's a flat, is typically the leaseholder of the flat).

Clear as mud?

Leaving

I have a follow up question: If a leaseholder is also the freeholder, why does the other freeholder need to sign the LPE1 forms?
I am a seller of a 'share of freehold' flat; it was explained to me by a solicitor that I am the landlord of both flats and my co-freeholder is also the landlord of both flats, meaning that neither of us can compel the other to take any action other than that which is set out in the Lease contracts.
If that is the case, why then should I need consent from the other freeholder to transfer my lease to a third party? Surely, as landlord/freeholder, I can complete the LPE1 form myself...?

I can see why they might need to sign a transfer of the freehold title, but I think I must be missing something re. the leasehold.

Please could you clarify. Many thanks.

Richard_Webster

Essentially the buyer of the other flat will want to know that what his seller (the other co-freeholder) has said about it is true.

Same_old_boy

I too am in a similar situation where i own the 50% shared freehold and want to sell the leashold flat to a buyer who is keen to complete quickly. The other freeholder is being completely unreasonable due to an earlier dispute and holding us to ransom not completing this form. The other freeholder is literally refusing to give back the lpe1 and we're close to losing our buyer and the property that we have agreed to buy upon this sale. Any advice would be much appreciated, our solicitor seems to think we don't have many options but it doesn't make sense to me. How can the other freeholder stop us moving house??! Thanks

phillw

Same_old_boy wrote: »

The other freeholder is literally refusing to give back the lpe1 and we're close to losing our buyer and the property that we have agreed to buy upon this sale.

Have you tried offering cash?
Have you explained to the buyer that you've fallen out with the other freeholder and they are refusing to fill out the form?

Same_old_boy

We are reluctant to offer cash because we know the type of person that she is. She will try to get as much out of us as possible and still delay. And i just dont believe it is right for her to get paid for doing this to us...

We have told the buyer that there maybe delays transferring the freehold due to this person and previous disputes and have agreed to split the sale into 2 parts, complete on the l/h then follow up with the freehold afterwards so we can then purchase our new property. The agent has said that they are happy to do this. However, our solicitor says this isnt possible and that the buyer's solicitor will not proceed without seeing her version of this form, even if it initially only for the l/h.

anselld

It is not mandatory to have a complete LPE1 form, however most buyers will not wish to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute with the Freeholder. Indeed, a buyer requiring a mortgage may find that finance is declined under the circumstances.

Presumably the other Freeholder is holding out in order to resolve the previous dispute. Is it not feasible to offer some compromise in order to resolve the ongoing dispute such that the LPE1 can then be completed?

Same_old_boy

I would love to resolve the dispute, but I'm aware that it could take lots of time and money to come to a solution. The claims that the other freeholder has made are completely unreasonable so it's difficult for us to just agree with them in order to move on.

You say 'most buyers' will not wish to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute.. Do you think it's worth us letting the buyer know what the dispute is about so they can make a decision on whether the dispute would actually be affecting them? The dispute isn't actually anything that affects the property but more our relationship with this person. Why would it matter to the buyer about things that have happened in the past? It doesn't take anything anyway from the property.

So in theory, the buyer could proceed with the sale if they want to. Is there anything we can put in writing to assure them that we will make all endeavours to clear things up with the freeholder, once we have completed on the l/h?