Final Charging Order - questions before payment- Urgent

Indias

** Was suggested this was the appropriate part of the forum to place it it- I hope so**

My ex- Landlord lied about placing my deposit in a protection scheme so I took them to court and was awarded £1725.

He did not pay this money demanded from the court order even when bailiffs went around so I got a Final charging order against the flat I had lived in in his name, knowing he was planning on selling it. At the time of application I had no costs as I have a low income on benefits.

I then had to pay £40 to register this with the land registry.
It has been approx 10 months since the court judgment.

I have been contacted by the conveyancer as he is trying to sell the property. They have asked me to fill in a form UN2 to release my claim, and said it will not be filed until after completion of the property when I am paid.

I have two questions;
Am I able to get the £40 cost and/or interest (due to waiting) added to the final charging order? If so how do I do this?

Is filling out the UN2 before receiving the funds normal practice? I am very concerned because my ex-landlord is untruthful, and I do not want to lose the leverage I have in the final charging order.

Any help appreciated ASAP. Thanks

dibblersan

i wouldn't. normally a charge on a property is paid then you tell the land registry to lift the charge and send a copy of the confirmation to the owner.

bigstevex

As above, payment first, then fill the form in. As the conveyancer states, it won't be filed until afterwards anyway so no need to do it until you see your money.

silvercar

Am I able to get the £40 cost and/or interest (due to waiting) added to the final charging order? If so how do I do this?

Yes.

A friend was in a similar situation and the charge had been sitting on the property for 8 years. He instructed an accountant to calculate what was owed ie interest at rates allowed and the accountants charges were added to the bill.

The property owner then has 2 choices, either pay up or go to court to dispute the charges. If the charges are reasonable, the property owner should pay up.

Definitely wait until it is paid off before removing the charge.

Indias

Was this just asked for, or added on by the court? I previously had not asked for interest because I was hoping it would be paid straight away. I'm worried about the length of time it would take to get added on by the court (and delaying the sale) or, asking for it and it not being legal.

silvercar

Indias wrote: »

Was this just asked for, or added on by the court? I previously had not asked for interest because I was hoping it would be paid straight away. I'm worried about the length of time it would take to get added on by the court (and delaying the sale) or, asking for it and it not being legal.

The accountant produced a statement of what was needed to remove the charge, it included interest, the original court fee and the accountants fee. It may have also included a fee to remove the charge. It didn't get to court because the seller (of the property) wanted to complete the transaction.

This wasn't any skulduggery - just a statement by a qualified accountant. A court would have backed it and then the seller would have had those costs too. Consider yourself lucky it will be done in 8 months not 8 years!

davidmcn

The difficulty may be if he can only pay off the debt with the funds from the sale. The other parties aren't going to cross their fingers and hope that the OP does discharge the charge after they get their money. So the OP will either need to (a) trust the debtor's solicitor (I wouldn't!) or (b) appoint their own solicitor to deal with the discharge, and then the solicitors can sort it out with the relevant professional undertakings - ought to be able to get their fee covered too.

ciderboy2009

Indias wrote: »

I have been contacted by the conveyancer as he is trying to sell the property. They have asked me to fill in a form UN2 to release my claim, and said it will not be filed until after completion of the property when I am paid.

Is this from a conveyancing company or a solicitor?

If a conveyancing company then I would refuse to complete the form until I'd been paid. If a solicitor then, depending on how they have worded the undertaking not to file it until after I had been paid, I would be more likely to agree.

silvercar

davidmcn wrote: »

The difficulty may be if he can only pay off the debt with the funds from the sale. The other parties aren't going to cross their fingers and hope that the OP does discharge the charge after they get their money. So the OP will either need to (a) trust the debtor's solicitor (I wouldn't!) or (b) appoint their own solicitor to deal with the discharge, and then the solicitors can sort it out with the relevant professional undertakings - ought to be able to get their fee covered too.

Both (a) and (b) involve costs, at least initially. Your first sentence says it all. It is a difficulty that the seller has. It is his problem to sort it. He knew the charge was on the property when he decided to sell. It is his business how he deals with it. He can take a loan/ borrow from friends or family/ extend an overdraft. His problem, if he wants to sell his property he will deal with it. I don't know why you need to take any risks on this.

davidmcn

silvercar wrote: »

Both (a) and (b) involve costs, at least initially.

It needn't involve any initial expense by the OP - they can tell their solicitor to go no further until they've got a fees undertaking from the other party.

He can take a loan/ borrow from friends or family/ extend an overdraft.

Or spend his other tenants' deposits...

It does sound like a relatively small amount, so unless the landlord is seriously strapped for cash then not sure why it needs to wait for completion of the sale.