Solicitor with-holding money?!

scd3scd4

No party is arguing that my daughter is owned money. They have had the evidence to prove it.

The issue is the seller has moved to Germany and told he's solicitors to go stuff themselves. Of course, they don't want to pay the difference.

We don't need or want them to pay it to her. They can pay it to the management company.

The seller's solicitors should have done many things but they never. Hence the issues.

The service chargers are done every six months, not yearly.

Tiglet2

I didn't say that any party was arguing whether or not your daughter is owed money. I'm sure she is owed money, but the point is that there is a process to follow and both sets of solicitors are bound by the contract and retention clause to follow the process, which means they don't just release monies as and when you make demands, it has to be backed up by published final accounts for the year.

Your daughter's solicitor must have negotiated a retention (£300) to be held by the seller's solicitor for a certain amount of time (a year? 18 months?). The time limit is to allow the Management Company to finalise, publish and produce their Final Accounts (not to be confused with service charge statements every six months, which are estimated and not actual).

That Final Accounts when produced (later this year/next year??) will be sent to your daughter as she is the leaseholder. Your daughter can then send it to her solicitor, who then requests that the seller's solicitor releases part (or all) of the retention to cover the shortfall indicated in the final accounts for the period when the seller was still the owner of the property. NOTE: Service Charge statements done every six months are NOT Final Accounts).

Speak to your solicitor again, to ascertain the terms under which the retention is being held. Speak to the Management Company to ascertain when Final Accounts are published.