J B Leitch and E & J Estates - ground rent scam

sueylouy

I bought a buy to rent flat 18 months ago. Naively I assumed that the ground rent was paid with the service charge (my fault) so was not aware that I should be receiving ground rent bills. The first I knew of this was yesterday when I received a very thick envelope in the post to my home address from JB Leitch taking me to court for ground rent arrears. Apparently they had sent two letters to the flat address requesting payment (which my tenant says he had not received).

Of course, I realise I am at fault for not understanding the ground rent needed to be paid and would have happily paid it were I aware of these alleged letters. The original amount I owed was £600. I now have a date to appear at court in October. I've rang J B Leitch and have been told to pay the costs which have now spiraled to £4,000! Can they do this? I understand that I was remiss in being ignorant of my ground rent obligations and want to pay the arrears and administration fees but £4,000? My tenant has assured me that no letters have arrived for me anytime in the last year and anyway they had my home address - why didn't they send the bill to me there?

What can I do? I would be very grateful for any advice please.

agrinnall

Sounds to me like it would be worth spending some money to consult with a solicitor - it could be throwing good money after bad but if they can give you a good reason not to pay all or some of the extra costs then it could well be worth doing.

bouicca21

Search the forum for JB [STRIKE]Leech[/STRIKE], pardon, Leitch to see what advice has been offered to other [STRIKE]victims[/STRIKE] people in the same boat.

sueylouy

Many thanks

pearl123

Pay only what you owe and consider contacting BBC watchdog or This is Money. Or similar types of organisations.
You could also write a letter stating you will be contacting BBC Watchdog to see if they will back down.

G_M

Firstly, as someone going into business it is worrying you did not research properly and know what you were doing and what the business involved. What else has slipped by you?

Secondly, why do you not have the RM forwarding service in place. You cannot & should not rely on your tenants to pass mail on. Why should they?

Thirdly you should be ensuring that everyone connected with the property knows your actual address, so that post is not sent to somewhere you don't live. The Land Registry, HMRC, banks, and (as you've discovered) the freeholder and management company.

I accept that you were "not aware that I should be receiving ground rent bills." though that seems strange, but even so your freeholder should have been made aware of your address.

Sorry if that seems unsympathetic but....

OK. First thing to do is pay the ground rent owed. Get that sorted and then address the additional legal and court charges. You may be able to negotiate some compromise on them, though given the reputation of the company that seems unlikely.

In legal terms though, the fact is the ground rent was unpaid and the company incurred costs in chasing you for it....

eddddy

Are you saying that you owe them £600 in ground rent, and they are charging you £3,400 in administration fees / late fees?

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 says that all fees charged by freeholders must be 'reasonable'.

i.e. £3,400 must be a reasonable fee for whatever work they have had to do and/or whatever costs they have incurred (e.g. solicitors fees.) Are any fees specifically mentioned in your lease?

As an example, if all they have done is sent you 2 reminder letters, a property tribunal might decide that £100 is a reasonable fee for that.

See: Section 5 ADMINISTRATION CHARGES here:
https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/service-charges-other-issues/


Also, you can contact LEASE for free advice: https://clients.lease-advice.org/appointments.aspx


(Sometimes the advice is to avoid going to the Small Claims Court for this type of thing.

i.e. Pay the freeholder the £4,000 to stop it going to small claims court - but making it very clear that you are paying under protest - and then challenging the fee at a Property Tribunal - where they are more familiar with the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act.

But take LEASE's advice on this.)

[Deleted User]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5148977