Landlord responsibilities

Konisberg

Hi all. I am a leaseholder of one of 3 flats in a building. The managing agent has gone awol with the funds, though we understand that the landlord has contact with them (they play golf together). The landlord said they would contact them to recover the relevant paperwork and funds but some several months later we have nothing. Recent approaches to the landlord have met with a defensive and unhelpful attitude. My question is whether anyone knows if the landlord (freeholder) is ultimately responsible for the funds which we pay to the managing agents. The situation is potentially more complicated but I wont go into it now for fear of confusion. If anyone can answer my question, then I can plan my next move. I am in contact with the other leasholders and we are all (except one who is the brother of the freeholder (told you it was more complicated!)) are worried about the funds which we estimate to be around 3.5k. Thanks in advance.

rheme

Hope this is useful. It is an except taken from an article in the guardian in 2005. I have put a link in to the article. It has a section relating to managing agents.

If there is a problem with management services, the leaseholder's argument is not with the agent but with the landlord, who has ultimate responsibility for the full and proper management of the property.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/feb/05/firsttimebuyers.homebuying

Good Luck

cattie

Also worth contacting these people for help & advice re the legal obligations of freeholder in this case. http://www.lease-advice.org/newintro.htm

It's a government funded agency offering help & advice on all aspects relating to owning leasehold residential property.

guppy

As long as the agent was genuinely acting for the landlord, or the landlord gave you reason to believe he was, then surely its the landlord's money that's been stolen, not yours.

As I understand it, paying the money to the landlord's lawful agent, is as good as having given it to him directly.

I'd consider getting professional advice though. Surely the funds become irrelevant as long as the landlord is providing the services he is supposed to?

Konisberg

Guys thank you for the links - very useful. Guppy the money missing is what we have paid for the "slush" fund to pay for any repairs to the building and garden maintenance, and not money we are paying the landlord for services. So I think the money is very relevant because if repairs are needed there is no money left to pay for it because the managing agent has in effect stolen it, whether in cahoots with the landlord or not.

Doozergirl

Who is managing the property now?

I think you should take the right to manage entirely away from your freeholder. Much easier than it sounds

You must contact the people in cattie's link. They are absolutely the right people to speak to. You can ask them about the Right to Manage aswell.

Konisberg

Hi Doozergirl. The landlord's brother lives in one of the flats and I believe when I looked into the RTM a couple of years ago that one couldn't do it if a relative of the landlord was a leaseholder in the building. No one is officially managing the building but we are trying to move forward in this. I will contact the LAS though to see what they say.

Doozergirl

I think it's if the property is a conversion and that person has lived there since before the conversion took place? Any help?