Share of freehold sinking fund.

dhk

Looking for some advice. I live in a share of freehold flat with a sinking fund which we all pay into quarterly. There are 5 flats. I have been asked by one neighbour who manages the accounts to sign a check so that he can be repaid for 4 invoices for work/services that were carried out a year before I moved in. 

I don’t think that I should be paying for works that happened a year before I moved in from money that I have since put into the sinking fund. 

If the balance of my account for my flat had that amount in it when the last owner moved out I would be happy to pay it from there but I’m not sure it’s fair that it comes out of the money that I have put in since then. 

What are peoples thoughts?

eddddy

dhk said:

I don’t think that I should be paying for works that happened a year before I moved in from money that I have since put into the sinking fund. 

It depends on lots of different factors.

The starting point would be

• Have you signed any deeds / contracts / agreements relating to joint freeholders responsibility for paying for works?
• • If you have, you're bound by whatever those deeds / contracts / agreements say.

• Or are you being asked to pay for these works as a leaseholder via the service charge?
• • If you are, it's likely that you have to pay it

(How is the freehold owned - through a company, or jointly by the individual leaseholders?)

If things were being done properly by a 'professional' freeholder, your solicitor should have found out during your purchase that there were outstanding amounts to be paid, and arranged a retention - so that your seller eventually paid for the work.


But I wouldn't be too surprised if everything is being run on an informal/goodwill basis. If that's the case, probably nothing can be enforced - so it's up to you whether you pay or not. It's a matter of whether you prefer to pay for something you don't think is fair, or have a war with your neighbours.


(FWIW, if everything is being run informally by amateurs, I wouldn't be keen to pay anything into a joint sinking fund. But I guess it depends how much you're putting in, and how much you trust your neighbours with your money.)
 

TripleH

Why are you being asked to sign the cheque?

Have these invoices been paid previously?

Are the invoices valid?

Due to the elapsed time between when they work was done and now I would query why they hadn't been settled sooner?