Freeholder amin fees

Mark_wood

A freehold company has bought and taken over our freehold from a property auction and so far they seem to want to squeeze every possible penny they can out of us for our ground floor terrace house flat.

First of all they tried to charge extortionately high home insurance and couldn't produce documents stating what was being covered. After researching my legal rights I found out they are required to charge at least close to market rates, so managed to half the price they quoted by copying and pasting our rights at them.

Anyways since then we are wanting to get some double glazed windows fitted, after seeking permission they have refused to look at it unless they receive a £250 admin fee for them to consider it. It seems this fee is plucked out of thin air, and was wondering is there any possibility that it can be contested? As seems high to me and other people I have mentioned it to.

Not really sure where i stand, and after there first attempts to squeeze us for money I'm very distrustful that they might want even more money after that as well.

AnotherJoe

Sorry can't help but this post should be required reading for those who pontificate here "cant see the issue with having a leasehold house as long as the ground rent doesn't double every few years".

eddddy

Mark_wood wrote: »

First of all they tried to charge extortionately high home insurance and couldn't produce documents stating what was being covered. After researching my legal rights I found out they are required to charge at least close to market rates, so managed to half the price they quoted by copying and pasting our rights at them.

Just to clarify this - the freeholder takes out an insurance policy and splits the cost between the leaseholders.

The cost of the insurance policy must be 'reasonable'. I guess you're saying that that the freeholder got a quote that was 'unreasonable', so you persuaded them to go with a different policy with a 'reasonable' cost.

Mark_wood wrote: »

Anyways since then we are wanting to get some double glazed windows fitted, after seeking permission they have refused to look at it unless they receive a £250 admin fee for them to consider it.

Again, the fee must be 'reasonable'.

If it's 'reasonable' for the freeholder to get a surveyor or architect to check your plans, then a fee of £250 might be 'reasonable'.

If the freeholder is just going to have a quick look at your plans and write you a letter, a fee of £250 sounds unreasonable.


As a guide, in 2011 the Upper Tribunal decided that £40 was a 'reasonable' fee for a freeholder giving consent to let - so I would guess that £40 is a reasonable fee for consent to replace windows (plus any surveyor's /architect's fees).
See: http://landschamber.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk//judgmentfiles/j823/LRX-33-34-76-102-2011.pdf