Rentcharges on freehold property

MaebyJade

Just over 2 years ago I purchased a leasehold property and of course had to pay ground rent of £300 per year. The council have recently contact all the buyers in the new development to inform us of an option to acquire the freehold to our properties at no cost (this is now in process with solicitors) . :beer:

Anyway, today I received a phone call from the council subcontractor who we normally pay the ground rent to saying that even after we become the freeholder we are required to pay the ground rent, which they now started calling rentcharges! Don't know much about rentcharges other than what I have read online and it seems they are usually no more than £20 and not £300. Can anyone advise please? Will we still have to pay the £300 per year or are the subcontractor trying their luck/clueless.

Thanks

Comms69

Presumably the council is adopting the estate? If so there is no reason to pay anything once you have the freehold

SmashedAvacado

Unlikely to be the case. Are they saying they intend to impose a new rentcharge over the property? That was outlawed in 1977. (By the way rentcharges have nothing to do with leases).

If you own the freehold, then you have no landlord and no-one to pay rent to. You may be liable to service charge - and perhaps that is what they mean. I would ask for the pack of papers conveying the freehold and perhaps that will clarify whether they have attempted to claw something back when transferring the freehold

OldMusicGuy

Are there any common areas that are maintained by someone on behalf of the development? I am on a small private development of freehold houses but we still have to pay an annual "rentcharge" to a property management company because the common areas (shared roadway and shrubs) are still owned by the original developer and not by the individual freeholders.

MaebyJade

Thanks all. I've not had the freehold documents from the solicitors back yet but will check properly once I do. OldMusicGuy - I think the there is though I'm not 100% as there are some council owned flats nearby.

I think the council already owned the land but the developer built on it. The ground rent was paid to the council via a subcontractor but now the council want to transfer the freehold to the property owners.