Freeholder Problems

gab3x

CONTEXT: I am selling a lovely one bed flat in west london to move on up. It has well over a hundred years left on the lease and no ground rent or service charges. The tree units that share the big Victorian semi share all the costs of maintenance equally. The freeholder is a person who owns one of the flats but doesn't live there.

SITUATION: I have been asking the freeholder for a management pack from February but he simply stopped responding to my messages. I have offered to pay for solicitors to do this work which will cost me £400-500 but I just want this done. No reply.
Legally speaking freeholders have no obligation to supply management packs but no one will buy your flat without one.

So I'm screwed. I never knew this happens with leaseholds and speaking to Leasehold Advisory Service it is a rather common occurrence.

If any of you know any actual tricks based on experience on how to get the freeholder moving I would be much obliged. 

davidmcn

Would have made more sense just to continue your previous thread about the same thing:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6154410/freeholder-not-supplying-management-pack#latest

gab3x

I wondered if there are any people active now who can contribute something fresh. I don't spend all my days on forums so don't know full forum etiquette.

princeofpounds

The government have been slow on this issue(as have all governments been over leasehold reform). There was a burst of optimism that things were going to change last year (e.g. https://www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk/guest-writers/major-leasehold-changes-offers-hope-homebuyers/) but I haven't heard any updates since. Maybe some other posters have.

In the meantime, it's carrot and stick. You can offer them more money, you can try hassling them day and night, and you could possibly pursue collective enfranchisement or right to manage in conjunction with the third leaseholder if they will ally with you. 

You could also offer an absent landlord indemnity policy. The buyer technically doesn't need the LPE1 form - many of the questions can be answered without the freeholder's involvement, but in many cases buyers are very reluctant to exchange without one.

NameUnavailable

Whilst the pack isn't legally going to stop your sale it may put buyers off if they know the freeholder is going to be difficult to deal with or isn't maintaining the building properly (I have been there done that).

Have you spoken to your solicitor to see what options they can suggest? Is you buyer willing to proceed based on what you can provide (copies of bills for work done, emails/correspondence to show the leaseholders co-operate etc).

NameUnavailable

Also yes the Govt were looking into further reform of leasehold law but with inevitable changes of Ministers and Covid/Brexit issues it appears to be very much on the back burner.

You also need to consider that some of the richest people in the UK are major freeholders, i.e. Prince Charles and the Duke of Westminster who owns most of the best areas of London. I am a cynical type and wonder just how much power a Tory government will try to take away from people like that! Many MP's are also landlords.....

gab3x

princeofpounds said:

The government have been slow on this issue(as have all governments been over leasehold reform). There was a burst of optimism that things were going to change last year (e.g. https://www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk/guest-writers/major-leasehold-changes-offers-hope-homebuyers/) but I haven't heard any updates since. Maybe some other posters have.

In the meantime, it's carrot and stick. You can offer them more money, you can try hassling them day and night, and you could possibly pursue collective enfranchisement or right to manage in conjunction with the third leaseholder if they will ally with you. 

You could also offer an absent landlord indemnity policy. The buyer technically doesn't need the LPE1 form - many of the questions can be answered without the freeholder's involvement, but in many cases buyers are very reluctant to exchange without one.

Thank you so much.. I will try offering more £ (starting to feel like a hustle)
Collective enfranchisement - I would go down this route but this process takes a year and I would like to move now. Also, the owners of the flat above are complicated people that are hard to talk to.
Absent Landlord Indemnity policy - great idea, if offering more £ doesn't work then this should be my next step.

gab3x

NameUnavailable said:

Whilst the pack isn't legally going to stop your sale it may put buyers off if they know the freeholder is going to be difficult to deal with or isn't maintaining the building properly (I have been there done that).

Have you spoken to your solicitor to see what options they can suggest? Is you buyer willing to proceed based on what you can provide (copies of bills for work done, emails/correspondence to show the leaseholders co-operate etc).

My solicitor has just pointed me to Leasehold Advisory Service saying he won't proceed without LPE1 which is a bit rubbish. To be honest this is the only sticking point as otherwise it is a very affordable set up with a long lease.

gab3x

NameUnavailable said:

Also yes the Govt were looking into further reform of leasehold law but with inevitable changes of Ministers and Covid/Brexit issues it appears to be very much on the back burner.

You also need to consider that some of the richest people in the UK are major freeholders, i.e. Prince Charles and the Duke of Westminster who owns most of the best areas of London. I am a cynical type and wonder just how much power a Tory government will try to take away from people like that! Many MP's are also landlords.....

This is what the LAS said that the legislation was meant to be passed that would have obliged freeholders to respond in a certain timeframe.

Agree with you on vested interests... 

NameUnavailable

gab3x said:

NameUnavailable said:

Whilst the pack isn't legally going to stop your sale it may put buyers off if they know the freeholder is going to be difficult to deal with or isn't maintaining the building properly (I have been there done that).

Have you spoken to your solicitor to see what options they can suggest? Is you buyer willing to proceed based on what you can provide (copies of bills for work done, emails/correspondence to show the leaseholders co-operate etc).

My solicitor has just pointed me to Leasehold Advisory Service saying he won't proceed without LPE1 which is a bit rubbish. To be honest this is the only sticking point as otherwise it is a very affordable set up with a long lease.

 ....and the LAS will tell you to seek legal advice. They're pretty useless really, I tried to get advice, set up a telephone appointment and that was basically someone reading the stuff out loud that is already on their website, and telling me to seek legal advice.

Sorry, I'm not sure what you can do apart from going back to your solicitors and asking them why they can't proceed as it's not a mandatory form - do they mean the vendors won't proceed without the pack? As cash buyers it is surely up to them if they want to proceed or not?

bucksbloke

You are not paying any ground rent or service charge? This would normally include building insurance? Who is paying that?
Can you solicitor not treat it as an absent landlord?