House seller did not pay final month Ground Rent

happyguy82

Hello,

I've recently purchased a property after which I was sent a Ground Rent late payment notice. The period being demanded for includes the final 6 weeks of the seller's occupation. The seller apparently made some provision for this cost in the contract according to my solicitor, however the problem is there is a Late Payment Penalty that has now been charged to me even though it was not my fault.

I believe the proper process is for the seller to pay 6 months Ground Rent in advance and then reclaim the excess payment later on. But because he didn't pay, this has now been charged to me :mad::mad:

What can be done about this? Thanks in advance.

bigisi

How much is it? You can always take them to court for it but depends whether you stand to gain more than your time and effort is worth.

SandraX

It happened to us years ago. The property was in the previous owners name it was not yours, so their problem. Any decent solicitor should have warned you about that.

AdrianC

Give us some timescales here...

When did you complete, when was the payment in question due, and when was the late charge incurred?

happyguy82

Thanks all,

To answer Adrian, Ground Rent charges started from 1st Sept, exchange took place mid Oct. I received the letter from the company in late Nov or early Dec. When I phoned them up they said they can't do anything as the seller did not notify them that they were leaving and thus I had to go through my solicitor.

antrobus

happyguy82 wrote: »

....The period being demanded for includes the final 6 weeks of the seller's occupation. The seller apparently made some provision for this cost in the contract according to my solicitor, ....

Yes, ground rent is normally apportioned. What does it say on your completion statement?