Leasehold property sold but still being invoiced by freeholder, purchasers solicitor is the issue

meriden102

Hi folks I’m at my wits end so any advice anyone has would be appreciated. I sold my leasehold apartment at the beginning of June 2019. In the autumn of 2019 I started to receive correspondence from the freeholders new managing agent; letters about drug dealers apparently living in the property, disturbance at night, litter etc. I contacted the managing agent and explained that the property doesn’t belong to me anymore and asked them to note this on their files to ensure that correspondence doesn’t come to me anymore. Unfortunately it didn’t stop and I started to get invoiced for service charge and ground rent. There was, on the invoice, a credit due on the service charge dating back to when I owned the property. I successfully got them to pay this amount back to me. However they still state that as long as my name is on the deeds on land registry they can only continue to contact me, they have no other option available to them. Meanwhile, I have liaised with my solicitor about why this is happening. They have told me that it is the purchasers solicitors that have to notify land registry. Over the past 6 months my solicitor has told me on 3 occasions that she has contacted the purchasers solicitor only to discover that they haven’t done what they should have done to make that happen. Each time she has reassured me that she’s escalated it to a senior manager or partner in the purchasers firm and it’s now “sorted” but I will need to wait for a few weeks for it all to go through. I then get some more correspondence, check land registry, find it still hasn’t changed, then go back to her and we repeat the cycle. We have spoken to the managing agents and asked them to stop contacting me, they say they have no choice. Is this true? I understand they can’t contact the new owner if they have no official notice of their name or address, but do they have to keep sending me letters? Today I have received an invoice for £1,200 from them. They have said if I don’t pay they will contact their solicitors... who will just confirm I am not liable! I feel powerless, I cannot complain to the legal ombudsman because you can only complain about a solicitor that has acted on your behalf apparently? Is there anything I can do? I feel like I am being harassed and it is causing me a lot of stress now.

Kyresa

Your solicitors should have kept a copy of the signed TR1 to transfer the property.    Ask them to send a certified copy of that and a letter confirming you sold the property on x date to the managing agents telling them they should write to the property directly or via the purchasers solicitors. 

If, even after that,  the arrears continue, the Freeholder has the right to determine the lease and apply to court for reposession.   As you've already received the sale money for it, it'll be the purchasers who will be suddenly locked out of their property, their lenders who have now lent money and have no charge over the property and the purchasers solicitors in a whole heap of dung!!    

AdrianC

If you are still shown on Land Registry as the owner, you are the owner in law.

IIWY, I'd be writing to the buyer, to tell them to kick their solicitor's backside - they are the ones who the solicitor is responsible to, and they are the ones who are losing out here.

xylophone

Are you/your solicitor able to make a complaint to  The Law Society about the failure of the purchaser's solicitor to act in a competent and professional manner?
https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/using-a-solicitor/complain-about-a-solicitor/

zagubov

meriden102 said:

Hi folks I’m at my wits end so any advice anyone has would be appreciated.

I sold my leasehold apartment at the beginning of June 2019. In the autumn of 2019 I started to receive correspondence from the freeholders new managing agent; letters about drug dealers apparently living in the property, disturbance at night, litter etc.

I contacted the managing agent and explained that the property doesn’t belong to me anymore and asked them to note this on their files to ensure that correspondence doesn’t come to me anymore. Unfortunately it didn’t stop and I started to get invoiced for service charge and ground rent.

There was, on the invoice, a credit due on the service charge dating back to when I owned the property. I successfully got them to pay this amount back to me. However they still state that as long as my name is on the deeds on land registry they can only continue to contact me, they have no other option available to them. Meanwhile, I have liaised with my solicitor about why this is happening. They have told me that it is the purchasers solicitors that have to notify land registry.

Over the past 6 months my solicitor has told me on 3 occasions that she has contacted the purchasers solicitor only to discover that they haven’t done what they should have done to make that happen. Each time she has reassured me that she’s escalated it to a senior manager or partner in the purchasers firm and it’s now “sorted” but I will need to wait for a few weeks for it all to go through.

I then get some more correspondence, check land registry, find it still hasn’t changed, then go back to her and we repeat the cycle. We have spoken to the managing agents and asked them to stop contacting me, they say they have no choice. Is this true? I understand they can’t contact the new owner if they have no official notice of their name or address, but do they have to keep sending me letters?

Today I have received an invoice for £1,200 from them. They have said if I don’t pay they will contact their solicitors... who will just confirm I am not liable! I feel powerless, I cannot complain to the legal ombudsman because you can only complain about a solicitor that has acted on your behalf apparently? Is there anything I can do? I feel like I am being harassed and it is causing me a lot of stress now.

Just paragraphing it so more people may read and respond.

meriden102

AdrianC said:

If you are still shown on Land Registry as the owner, you are the owner in law.

IIWY, I'd be writing to the buyer, to tell them to kick their solicitor's backside - they are the ones who the solicitor is responsible to, and they are the ones who are losing out here.

I don’t have any contact details for the buyer, I only know her name so I don’t know how to write to her. It was bought as a property to rent out so writing to the address of the property itself is probably not going to get me anywhere. Is there another way I could get the buyer’s details? 

meriden102

xylophone said:

Are you/your solicitor able to make a complaint to  The Law Society about the failure of the purchaser's solicitor to act in a competent and professional manner?

I looked into this but was told we cannot because the purchasers solicitor is not acting on our behalf. I can only complain about my own solicitor. I’m quite close to doing that anyway to be honest given that she’s given me the same reassurances over and over and it’s never been resolved. Do you think that information is incorrect and I can complain about the purchasers solicitor?

meriden102

Kyresa said:

Your solicitors should have kept a copy of the signed TR1 to transfer the property.    Ask them to send a certified copy of that and a letter confirming you sold the property on x date to the managing agents telling them they should write to the property directly or via the purchasers solicitors. 

If, even after that,  the arrears continue, the Freeholder has the right to determine the lease and apply to court for reposession.   As you've already received the sale money for it, it'll be the purchasers who will be suddenly locked out of their property, their lenders who have now lent money and have no charge over the property and the purchasers solicitors in a whole heap of dung!!    

Thank you. I believe that the solicitor has already done what you said but I will request that it is done again and that I am provided with proof of that. I understand they can’t invoice and owner they don’t know about but I don’t understand what they gain by posting it to me when I am not going to be paying anything. 

AdrianC

meriden102 said:

AdrianC said:

If you are still shown on Land Registry as the owner, you are the owner in law.

IIWY, I'd be writing to the buyer, to tell them to kick their solicitor's backside - they are the ones who the solicitor is responsible to, and they are the ones who are losing out here.

I don’t have any contact details for the buyer, I only know her name so I don’t know how to write to her. It was bought as a property to rent out so writing to the address of the property itself is probably not going to get me anywhere. Is there another way I could get the buyer’s details? 

Don't you have the memorandum of sale?

But there's no reason not to just write to them c/o the property... The tenant should forward.

xylophone

I can only complain about my own solicitor. I’m quite close to doing that anyway to be honest given that she’s given me the same reassurances over and over and it’s never been resolved. 

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/faqs/#complaint-legal-service

"In the first instance you should complain directly to your solicitor about the poor service you have received. All solicitors have a procedure for handling complaints.

For more information about complaining, call the Solicitors Regulation Authority Contact Centre on 0370 606 2555 or email contactcentre@sra.org.uk.

You can find more information about problems with solicitors on their website at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems.page.

If you've complained to your solicitor about poor service or about their bill, and you aren't satisfied with your solicitor's response, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333, who can help to resolve your complaint for you."