Leasehold Fees for Seller & LPE1

Pinkperky

I am in the process of selling my leasehold apartment. My solicitors provided me with costs for leasehold fees as part of the conveyancing quote and have contacted the management company to advise them of the sale. The management company and my solicitor have contacted me to advise that they need £200 +VAT to complete the LPE1 form, which I had completed myself when returning my paperwork to the solicitor, as it was included within the pack.

I note that this is not a legal or mandatory requirement but want to know if anyone has come across this before and found a loophole? I note that the national guidance states that £200+VAT is the MAXIMUM charge for the LPE1 and that the fee should be reflective of the work undertaken. Seeing as I believe I have filled the form in myself, am I right to challenge this cost? Why should I foot this bill when I am already paying £2k for solicitors fees + £2k for estate agents and all of the other hidden fees associated with the leasehold and help to buy elements.

I want to ensure I'm not being taken advantage of here. I'm not in a rush to sell as I haven't found anywhere else to buy onto so am willing to challenge the management company. 
Help required for a frustrated home seller.

user1977

The vendor are (understandably) going to insist on the information coming from the management company, rather than just take your word for it. So even if you fill in the form, they're still going to have to spend time checking that they agree with your answers. What you're paying to the other people involved isn't really relevant - the management company aren't getting any of that (though it perhaps puts £200 in perspective if it's only a tenth of what you're paying to either the solicitors or the EA!).

Pinkperky

user1977 said:

The vendor are (understandably) going to insist on the information coming from the management company, rather than just take your word for it. So even if you fill in the form, they're still going to have to spend time checking that they agree with your answers. What you're paying to the other people involved isn't really relevant - the management company aren't getting any of that (though it perhaps puts £200 in perspective if it's only a tenth of what you're paying to either the solicitors or the EA!).

No I appreciate the rest of the money isn't relevant but all the costs add up, and I'm not the one that wants the information so it seems so unfair that I have to foot the bill! As you are alluding to, everybody has a right to know where their money is going. Pretty sure the vendor won't even be aware yet that this is all going on, I certainly wasn't when I undertook the purchase. 

TBG01

Was it a TA7 or LPE1 that you completed?

george4064

TBG01 said:

Was it a TA7 or LPE1 that you completed?

Sellers of leasehold properties always have to complete TA7, OP already said they have completed 
LPE1 form.

NameUnavailable

As the seller of a leasehold property you have to pay for the costs of the information that the solicitors will request from the managment company. There's no limit on what they can charge and there's no legal obligatoin on them to respond at all. It can and does cause major issues for some leaseholders who are effectively trapped and unable to sell due to lack of co-operation from freeholders/management co's.

lesleyfromkent

Wow. It just goes on and on doesn't it.
I completed on a leasehold flat sale last friday. I was quoted £360 initially for LPE1, then when push came to shove it cost me £679! Because we have a tenants association who does everything except the buildings insurance and collect the ground rent, the form came back only half filled in, but "signed" with a typed name. I was led to believe that it was mandatory by my solicitor - it isn't. but you get hit with "their solicitors demand it, so if you actually want to sell, you'll just pay up". So, £679 for a half filled in form. I had all the information and supporting dox myself, except for the 'legalese' bits and they're all filled in n/a by the landlord / freeholder. I didn't know about the £200plus vat recommended maximum, but that recommended max has been well, very very well, exceeded by my freeholder / "landlord". I am considering going to small claims court, as this is outrageous.
I suppose I should consider myself 'lucky' that I actually got enough of the form that the purchasors' solicitors eventually just gave up, otherwise, i wouldn't have sold it.
boy oh boy.

Tiglet2

lesleyfromkent said:

Wow. It just goes on and on doesn't it.
I completed on a leasehold flat sale last friday. I was quoted £360 initially for LPE1, then when push came to shove it cost me £679! Because we have a tenants association who does everything except the buildings insurance and collect the ground rent, the form came back only half filled in, but "signed" with a typed name. I was led to believe that it was mandatory by my solicitor - it isn't. but you get hit with "their solicitors demand it, so if you actually want to sell, you'll just pay up". So, £679 for a half filled in form. I had all the information and supporting dox myself, except for the 'legalese' bits and they're all filled in n/a by the landlord / freeholder. I didn't know about the £200plus vat recommended maximum, but that recommended max has been well, very very well, exceeded by my freeholder / "landlord". I am considering going to small claims court, as this is outrageous.
I suppose I should consider myself 'lucky' that I actually got enough of the form that the purchasors' solicitors eventually just gave up, otherwise, i wouldn't have sold it.
boy oh boy.

This is an old thread.

There are government proposals to limit the maximum fee for the LPE1 to £200 plus VAT, as well as giving managing agents 15 working days to respond.  However, at present the changes announced are just proposals, but they will become law once legislation is passed. Until this legislation is passed, landlords and managing agents can continue with their current fees and processes. 

A buyer's solicitor will want responses confirmed from the managing agent, not you as the seller unfortunately, even though you may have the answers.  While it may not be mandatory, there will be few buyers (and their solicitors) that will go ahead with the purchase if they don't know what the likely costs are going to be.

lesleyfromkent

Hi Tiglet 2, you are absolutely correct.
Unfortunately, until there is legislation, there will be companies that charge stupid amounts - I actually got charged £690 not £679. And that legislation you mention, apparently there's something in it that "thinks" that if its a block with a lot of flats, that sell regularly, well then the company doing the form will only charge around £50 for redoing something its already done fairly frequently. Well, that didn't work, did it! I'm now looking at a First Tier Tribunal case - but previous cases seem to feel that fairly high charges are ok (although £200-380 ish is still well below my charge, those were 2018/9, and now its 2022).
I seem to have gotten caught between the cost of an LPE1 / £360, and a Property Management Information Pack for £690 which in actuality turned out to be an LPE1 with a copy of the buildings insurance attached. Nice work if you can get it eh?
I'm also really irritated that everyone is saying that "it has to come from a professional or it isn't real" and yet I had all the information, collected and ready to go - while the Managing Agent had only the buildings insurance and a huge form with "n/a" boxes checked through it - and my info is less "respectable" than theirs? Its stupid. And how can it be a legal form with liability when its signed, when all the boxes are ticked no or n/a, and the management is done by the tenants not the Managing Agent. Badly thought through and being badly enacted.
And it might be an old thread - but its still going on and people will continue to read this.

And yes, to get the sale, I just had to pay up and lump it.
I'll never touch leasehold again, never.

SXX

I've had to pay £200 for an LPE1 form - which I strongly objected to as in my case most of the information on the form is either an N/A or NO or it is in the lease so it would have taken the freeholder about 10 mins to complete the form.   (£200 for 10 min job - nice work if you can get it).

When I objected my solicitor said that even though most of the responses were not applicable it was still necessary for the form to be completed! 

I have since found out that the form is not mandatory.  My personal view is that the buyer's solicitor is just being lazy.   Once my property is sold, I will into this again to see if it is worth challenging. 

I have also found out that my lease is defective so I will have to pay to correct some else's mistake - otherwise I can't sell the flat.  I am feeling rather fed up.