Freeholder's sublet fee

[Deleted User]

Wouldnt it save so much hasssle if legal documents were written in plain English

oh no wait we, wouldnt need to pay Solicitors huge sums to translate them :mad:

misterstingy

It looks as though I will have to comply for the current and future tenancies. I will argue about the retrospective stuff, since once a tenancy has ended it is defunct and can have no bearing on the freeholder's interest in the property.

LEJC

Out of interest OP what sort of figure do you have to pay on each notification of new tenant....
I have a property with a similar type of clause in the region of £120 per changeover so from that I'm guessing its uncommon but not unusual.

scriv

Our charges are around £130 for new tenant and about £ 70 for existing tenant renewal. All plus VAT I think?

It's a lot if the rental income is not high as in certain parts of the country.

LEJC

scriv wrote: »

Our charges are around £130 for new tenant and about £ 70 for existing tenant renewal. All plus VAT I think?

It's a lot if the rental income is not high as in certain parts of the country.

I sort of see the additional charges for a tenant change....but not for simply a renewal of an existing agreement...are you sure this is a management/freehold charge and not a letting agent charge?

I believe we have the option of something called a global agreement whereby for £400 we can have as many changes in tenant as we wish over a 5 year period.....something you could enquire about maybe OP.

I guess I can also see why you are being asked to pay retrospectively as you have benefited in the same way as another leasholder who did read the terms and conditions of the lease and paid the premium.
What I do also think is perhaps the managing company should also have been a little more diligent in their managing of the lease as to allow you not to fall into the situation of not paying for many years.

sparky130a

Frankly i think it's a disgrace a freeholder / management co can levy these fees, no matter what their value.

I can't see they have any costs to recover whatsoever.

scriv

Ours is most definitely the Management Agent of the Freeholder . What happens is that the new freeholder - often a large, faceless investment/ground rent grazer company with off shore origins - buys the freehold and 'appoints' their management agent to 'manage' the revenues of the lease including ground rent and consents etc. Although technically separate companies, freeholder and management agent usually share the same address and officers. It is fast becoming a well known practice.

The reason I asked if there had been a change of freeholder/ MA is that there can surely be no justifiable reason for the new freeholder to claim any rights over or benefits from tenancies which the previous freeholder had managed. New freeholders have the right to claim Ground Rent retrospectively, but I thought not administrative fees.

eddddy

sparky130a wrote: »

Frankly i think it's a disgrace a freeholder / management co can levy these fees, no matter what their value.

I can't see they have any costs to recover whatsoever.

All fees charged by a freeholder must be 'reasonable'.

Some cases about sub-letting fees went to the Land Tribunal Upper Chamber in 2012. In those cases, the Tribunal ruled that the fee should be no more than £40.

If a freeholder asks for significantly more than £40, it might be worth referring them to those cases.

See: http://www.leaseholdknowledge.com/sub-letting-fees-should-not-be-more-than-40-landlords-are-told-four-times-by-the-land-tribunal

misterstingy

LEJC wrote: »

Out of interest OP what sort of figure do you have to pay on each notification of new tenant....
I have a property with a similar type of clause in the region of £120 per changeover so from that I'm guessing its uncommon but not unusual.

Fee is £130 to register a new tenancy with a retrospective consent surcharge of £45.

The lease doesn't say I need their consent, just that I need to provide them with a copy of the lease and pay a fee.

scriv

misterstingy wrote: »

Fee is £130 to register a new tenancy with a retrospective consent surcharge of £45.

The lease doesn't say I need their consent, just that I need to provide them with a copy of the lease and pay a fee.

And that is what you have to argue re the consent fee. Quote your lease very clearly to them and tell them that your lease does not require you to obtain their consent.