Freeholder will not provide info to solicitors for sale of flat

The_Walker

The freeholder is trying to blow the sale and buy the property for himself (at a reduced amount presumably).

He's finally made contact, and despite his superficial excuses he's clearly been a busy boy. He's consulted a mortgage broker, asked me how much the buyers are paying and made it clear he now wants the flat for himself, refusing to provide the LPE1 on the grounds it's "too complex".

Our solicitors are at a loss currently on how to deal with this, and have passed it to the buyers solicitors for ideas. I had a hunch the buyers would be willing to proceed regardless, unfortunately their mortgage probably requires insurance against this freeholder. Since he's not an "absentee landlord", the usual indemnity is not allowed. I doubt the mortgage provider will go ahead.

So it's looking like we're defeated.

eddddy

The_Walker said:

So it's looking like we're defeated.

Do you want to 'go legal' on this?

Do you have a paper trail showing that the freeholder says they won't fill in an LPE1, but they want to buy the property cheaply?


If so, one approach you could try is serving a notice under section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 on the freeholder.

Essentially, you'd be saying that because of the freeholder's behaviour, you intend to apply to the Tribunal for a manager to be appointed, to take over management of the building - unless the freeholder fills in the LPE1.


TBH, solicitors tell me that it's very difficult to persuade a Tribunal to appoint a manager using this process. But if you have evidence that the freeholder is essentially "playing dirty to make you sell your flat cheaply to them" - that's pretty bad.

And the freeholder might decide to just fill in the LPE1 - to avoid having to face that accusation at Tribunal.

See: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/what-does-appointing-a-manager-mean/

The_Walker

I don't want to go legal, but if faced with losing many thousands of pounds yes I will do it. Our other options of selling at auction or finding a cash buyer will also lose us a fortune.

So far I have Whatsapp messages from him, which I'm glad of because they're in text for all to see. Hopefully that counts as a "paper trail"? He hasn't made an offer on the flat yet, he's only made it clear he wants it. Given that he attempted to charge my wife and I double for the lease extension it's fair to say he's going to try and fleece us.

Thanks for that legal tip, I'll probably need to discuss it with my solicitor this week.

NameUnavailable

This is terrible! Another thing to address in the leasehold reform if/when it ever happens - it must be made a legal obligation to respond to queries and withing a set timescale.

The_Walker

Does anyone know a company or solicitors in the South East/Hampshire/Berkshire region who might assist us in this situation. We're looking at our options. A tribunal, or maybe even a purchase of half the freehold, who knows.

The freeholder has stated he'll pay the same price as the buyers he blocked. Yet so far there's been silence since. We're in agreement with our agent that he will try to reduce the price later in the process.

There must be something we can do legally? The flat represents our life savings and this guy will be virtually stealing from us.

nyermen

As an aside - take a screenshot of the whatsapp message screen, it's possible for a sender to delete a message I believe, and if you reopened whatsapp it wouldn't be there any more.

eddddy

The_Walker said:

There must be something we can do legally? The flat represents our life savings and this guy will be virtually stealing from us.

As I mentioned above, you can serve notice under section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant act - stating that you require the freeholder to complete an LPE1, otherwise you'll apply for a manager to be appointed to take over management of the building.

(And hopefully, the new manager will complete an LPE1.)

The_Walker

eddddy said:

The_Walker said:

There must be something we can do legally? The flat represents our life savings and this guy will be virtually stealing from us.

As I mentioned above, you can serve notice under section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant act - stating that you require the freeholder to complete an LPE1, otherwise you'll apply for a manager to be appointed to take over management of the building.

(And hopefully, the new manager will complete an LPE1.)

Are there individuals or companies who we could pay to guide us through that process though? I'd be worried about making a mistake that could ruin the case for us. I believe in paying experienced people who've been through the process themselves many times.

If we go this route, we'd apply to manage it ourselves. The building is only a two flat converted house (one below, one above). And I guess once sold the new owner would assume the role, but that would have to be clarified.

In a way, the flat has already been devalued. Sellers will be wary of buying with such a freeholder.

eddddy

The_Walker said:

If we go this route, we'd apply to manage it ourselves. The building is only a two flat converted house (one below, one above). And I guess once sold the new owner would assume the role, but that would have to be clarified.

If the leaseholders of the two flats want to manage the building themselves - it's probably better for the two leaseholders to get together and...

• take over the 'Right to Manage' See: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/right-manage/
• buy the freehold (it's called 'collective enfranchisement')  See: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/ce-getting-started/

So that requires the other leaseholder to cooperate - and ideally, pay half the costs.


Serving a section 22 notice doesn't require the cooperation of the other leaseholder. And the hope would be that just serving the notice would spur the freeholder into action - so you don't need to actually get a manager appointed.


A solicitor who specialises in 'Landlord and Tenant' law could advise you on this. It's unlikely that a conveyancing solicitor would have the relevant specialist knowledge - but your conveyancing solicitor might be able to recommend somebody. (They may even have a colleague in the same firm who specialises in 'Landlord and Tenant'.)

SDLT_Geek

The_Walker said:

Does anyone know a company or solicitors in the South East/Hampshire/Berkshire region who might assist us in this situation. We're looking at our options. A tribunal, or maybe even a purchase of half the freehold, who knows.

The freeholder has stated he'll pay the same price as the buyers he blocked. Yet so far there's been silence since. We're in agreement with our agent that he will try to reduce the price later in the process.

There must be something we can do legally? The flat represents our life savings and this guy will be virtually stealing from us.

I have sent a PM with a suggestion of an individual who might be able to help.