Problem with selling leasehold flat

Neil49

Are you in a position to provide copies of the quarterly invoices and proof of your payment over the last few years. Although not satisfactory you may have to do everything possible to assure the buyers and their solicitors that they aren't setting themselves up for a hefty bill that you haven't paid.

But I agree with the comments above that the Management Company appears to be incompetent but the whole setup sounds like it is run at minimum cost to the freeholder. 

greatcrested

Your rights. See leaseadvice

https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/how-can-i-find-out-what-my-service-charge-is-being-used-for/

Phil_87

The management company is run by the freeholder. Another thing worth noting is that they have never increased the service charges while I've lived here (7 years).

 I do have lots of copies of the service charge invoices, already provided a couple of those to my solicitor but I might just get photos of all of them, and offer to provide bank statements showing all of the payments. Also the managing agent's solicitor has confirmed there are no arrears, so I don't think there's any reason for the buyer to worry about anything not being paid.

Phil_87

greatcrested said:

Your rights. See leaseadvice

https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/how-can-i-find-out-what-my-service-charge-is-being-used-for/

That's very useful thanks

NameUnavailable

You should receive the accounts each year or (as pointed out) have a legal right to see them.

However, solicitors may not accept copies from you, only directly from the freeholder/management company. It is standard practice for the solicitors to request a 'leaseholder pack' which will include accounts and other info relating to works carried out or planned. There is no limit to what a freeholder can charge for this!

The difficult part is that there's no obligation on them to provide this. Freeholders can easily obstruct you from selling by failing to co-operate with enquiries (which will send a red flag up the pole and send most buyers running).

It should IMHO be a legal requirement to supply such information and at a fixed cost.

princeofpounds

You as a leaseholder have a right to see summary accounts and inspect receipts etc. The relevant legislation IIRC is the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 Sections 21-25.

It is a criminal offence punishable by a fine (section 25) to not provide them following a request that meets the specified conditions (think that's 21 or 22). I can't remember the process to prosecute (I think you have to involve the local authority as the prosecuting agency or pursue a private prosecution to get the ball rolling) but obviously the threat is supposed to be enough.

This is separate however to the buyer requesting a freeholder's pack/LPE 1, which thankfully you already seem to have.

It's very weird that the freeholder is refusing to do something they are legally obliged to do, whilst already doing something they are not technically obliged to do. 

Buyers normally request the LPE1 but I don't believe it's standard for them to request the accounts (I may be wrong in that). So you could push back on that one. Sometimes - often in fact - buyers' solicitors ask for something that can't be easily provided and it doesn't always break the deal if you refuse it. Your solicitor could answer something like 'you have the LPE1 and will have a statutory right to request accounts when you become the leaseholder'.

Hopefully though you can winkle the accounts out of the freeholder and the buyer will accept them from you.