AP01 form completed for purchase of new build house - Now getting Companies House warning letters

dan8030

Hello,

I bought a new build house in November 2020, as part of the completion process I was asked to sign a form called a AP01, I queried this with my solicitor at the time and they advised that it was standard practice and it was required for the purchase to complete, so I signed the document and everything completed as expected.

However, in August I received a letter from Companies House saying that I had been made a director of the Management Company (that is what the AP01 form does apparently) and that I now need to register the Management Company accounts online or else face fines..... I spoke to my builder who advised that nothing needed to be done and that the letter should be ignored.

Unfortunately, my builder has now ceased trading and is no longer taking calls regarding this issue.

I have today received another letter from Companies House advising "STATUTORY NOTICE - OVERDUE ACCOUNTS" relating to a period that was before I completed on my property.  The letter goes on to give a number of examples of what needs to be done, with one including if the accounts are not submitted fines, prosecution and a criminal record could happen.....

I have tried to contact Companies House, but they are closed until Monday. 

My questions:
1) How can I stop this from going any further?
2) Can I be removed as a company director? If so what form needs to be completed to do this?
3) Is this a common occurrence with new build properties?? (As this is the 1st house I have ever bought)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Danny

NameUnavailable

You can resign as a Director but that might have other implications (less influence over what happens etc).

What is the company? Who are the other directors? Who are the shareholders? What are they doing? You can look it up on the Companies House website.

dan8030

@NameUnavailable Thank you for your reply. I forgot to mention that for my job I cannot be a director of another business, it is in my work contract. So I will speak to Companies House about resigning and completing the necessary paperwork.

In response to your questions:
The company is called Field Farm Management Ltd
The other directors/officers are some of the other residents on the estate (10 people)
There is 1 person who has full control, which appears to be a foundation....not sure how that works though
As far as I am aware nothing is happening other than me getting worrying letters from Companies House about overdue accounts and fines!!!

Thanks

p00hsticks

I'd suggest you talk to the other residents, as they may well have had similar letters .It sounds like the builder has arranged some sort of management company comprising the resident to manage the common areas of the estate.

This thread from a few years back goes into a bit more detail on the subject

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5864248/buying-new-build-estate-manager-director-secretory-role

Titus_Wadd

I assume you were required to become a shareholder in the company (we did with ours) I wonder whether the form sent for you to sign was the incorrect one?  You could ask your solicitor to check whether you were required to become a director or a shareholder (there should be mention in your transfer if there's a covenant requiring membership of the management company if you have a read through yourself).

Once you know if the solicitor dropped the ball you could go through their complaints procedure; you did query the form at the time, so that is in your favour.

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

NameUnavailable

dan8030 said:

@NameUnavailable Thank you for your reply. I forgot to mention that for my job I cannot be a director of another business, it is in my work contract. So I will speak to Companies House about resigning and completing the necessary paperwork.

In response to your questions:
The company is called Field Farm Management Ltd
The other directors/officers are some of the other residents on the estate (10 people)
There is 1 person who has full control, which appears to be a foundation....not sure how that works though
As far as I am aware nothing is happening other than me getting worrying letters from Companies House about overdue accounts and fines!!!

Thanks

I think you need to look into things further before doing anything. Being a Director of a company like this is not quite the same as being a Director of (another) business - it isn't there to trade or make a profit, simply a formal way of managing the properties.

If you resign you may cause yourself problems down the line (it could be a condition of your purchase/freehold that you are appointed as a Director and you would lose the chance to have a say in future decisions about the manangement issues).

Speak to your neighbours/fellow directors and contact the 'person with significant control' which is another company. The builder going bust is probably the cause of the late filing. You could also seek advice from your solicitors.

dan8030

Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.

TripleH

Just checked, the accounts were filed yesterday and are dormant company.

Please make sure you keep up-to-date with filing the accounts and compliance statement. The last thing you need is to have the company struck off as this will be a nightmare to resolve.

BigD74

@dan8030 I just checked the Companies House registration of the management company of our new build estate, and the only listed directors are employees of the builder. No neighbours listed on it. Checking your company I also noticed that the only directors are all people living in the same street, not the rest of the estate...? Looks like the builder has messed up. 

I know the builder & estate you are talking about... We had an early bird reservations on one of their plots. Got delayed and delayed through and after Covid, with very little updates from the builder unless we chased it. Felt strange and we ended up cancelling the reservation and going with our current house. Looks like the builder is still active and trading, as are several holding companies, but decided not to complete phase 2 of the development. 

AdrianC

NameUnavailable said:

...(it could be a condition of your purchase/freehold that you are appointed as a Director

Unlikely.

What if somebody was barred from becoming a director, say?