Freeholder service charges

ForzaFifer

I think this is the right place for this.

Ive bought my own flat over a year ago now, and the freeholder has been in touch to send out a bill for service charges etc. They have tried to bill me for things i don't have to pay for due to my leasehold, such as ground rent an insurance, so im disputing that.

My real question is, can i ask to see a breakdown on what the service charge actually covers, and what they have spent money on? The freeholders havent spent a penny on the building since ive been there, and according to other tenants the freeholders havent made a single repair to anything in years. We, the tenants pay for the hallway electricity ourselves, so, even that isnt covered under the service charge. 

After speaking to my neighbours it has become clear the freeholders are very difficult to deal with.

daveyjp

You shouldn't have to ask, it should be provided.

cattie

With leasehold it is usual for lessees to have to pay service charges for buildings insurance via freeholder or his/her managing agents & also the ground rent So are you certain your lease stipulates that buildings insurance needs to be taken out by the leaseholder & there's no ground rent to pay?

greatcrested

Are you sure your lease does not include a ground rent charge?

And are you sure you don't have to contribute to the building insurance?

Both the above are pretty standard.

As for the accounts:

https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/summaries-rights-obligations-service-charges-england/

NameUnavailable

Most leases include a ground rent even if it's 'peppercorn' - if the lease was extended at some point via the formal method then the ground rent will have been removed.

Buildings insurance is the responsibility of the freeholder so it's normal to bill you for your share of that.

Service charges can be anything the freeholder decides. However they should provide a summary of the accounts for the last period showing monies paid and what that was spent against plus any surplus, as well as a budget for the coming year.

You can dispute charges if you think they are unreasonable or unceccesary or for 'improvement' rather than necessary maintenance, but most leases allow for the freeholder to charge their legal costs back to the leaseholders, so they can just had the issue to their solicitors to argue with you and watch you ramp up even higher bills!

ForzaFifer

greatcrested said:

Are you sure your lease does not include a ground rent charge?

And are you sure you don't have to contribute to the building insurance?

Both the above are pretty standard.

As for the accounts:

https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/summaries-rights-obligations-service-charges-england/

Yes, i pay a peppercorn ground rent and my solicitor got me an indemnity policy regarding the vague wording around the buildings insurance, I cant remember all the details, i'll go over it again. My issue is mainly around the service charge bill when i know they haven't done anything to the building in at least a decade.

Thanks for the link though, that answers my question.