Bit of a muddle! (Leasehold flat issues with landlord)

GreysAnatomy87

Hi!

I’m mostly posting this to check I’m taking the correct steps so far… and if anyone has advice I’d really appreciate your thoughts 😊

I completed the purchase of a leasehold flat in May this year, in a block newly converted from office space to domestic properties.
I immediately asked on completion to be shown the electricity and water meters (which I now realise I should have asked beforehand… but you live, you learn!) and was told individual meters hadn’t been installed yet, but they would be very soon, and I wouldn’t be liable for any bills until the meters were installed. Obviously I’m kicking myself now, but despite numerous requests I’ve never managed to get that in writing, and neither have any of the other leaseholders. However none of our leases have any mention of paying the landlord for utilities as part of the service charge for our individual properties (only the communal areas).

The landlord has now issued a large bill to each resident with no supporting documentation.
Mine is approx £1100 for just over 6 months, for water and electricity, 1 person with low to average usage, in a 1 bed flat.
I’ve had confirmation from the water company that they would expect my annual water bill to be £280.
My previous energy bills for a 3-bed house were £70 a month and lower in the summer.

The invoice from the landlord doesn’t say it’s a service charge, it doesn’t have terms and conditions attached, and it was sent by email (when the lease specifies email and fax are not allowed). It doesn’t clearly explain how the costs have been apportioned (but we think he’s split the total equally, and then taken into account the period of time since completion for each flat), and added on extra estimated costs to the end of the year (when we could either get money back, or an additional invoice for extra costs).

I asked for a meeting with the landlord today, to request back-up documentation to support the bill, to ask why this wasn’t agreed in advance etc.
I tried to explain that the costs seemed very high, we weren’t clear about the appointment etc and even though we were originally told we wouldn’t have to pay until a meter was installed, the leaseholders want to come to a fair agreement.
The landlord said that he couldn’t get new meters installed because of COVID (which doesn’t sound right), that the current electricity meter is a commercial meter, which means the power could be shut off immediately by the power company without the normal protections for domestic customers (which he apparently knew because that’s happened before in some of his commercial properties!) Eventually because I wouldn’t agree to pay the invoice amount at this stage, and mentioned that we had originally told we would not have to pay anything until the individual meters were installed, the landlord got upset, raised his voice, accused me of wanting to steal from him, and walked out.
So all in all, not a great situation!

I know there are lots of things I could (should) have done differently… but we are where we are, and these are the steps I’m taking now:
- Taking notes of every meeting or communication and sending them to the developer by email (he refused permission to record the meeting, and left before I could ask him to sign my notes)
- Forming a Residents Association and applying for it to be officially recognised
- Contacting the energy company to let them know it’s a domestic building (but they won’t really speak to me because I’m not the account holder)
- Appointing a solicitor who specialises in property disputes
- The landlord hasn’t provided back-up to support the invoice I’ve been sent, I don’t think it’s in a valid format and I don’t think it was sent in the way specified in the lease, so I haven’t made any payment yet (but would be willing to pay a reasonable amount based on average one-bed flat costs).

Do these all sound like sensible actions now… and is there anything else anyone can suggest that I should be doing?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts! 😊

GreysAnatomy87

Sorry to be clear, the invoice I’ve been sent is £1100, covers water and electricity, and is apparently from the completion date (in Mid-May 21) to the end of 2021.

london21

That is annoying, you will need a way to get your own separate meter because usage will vary and seems the bill is just been split currently. 

RAS

Not just that but I believe the rate per unit for commercial meters is much higher than for domestic users probably with a high standing charge. Your freeholder doesn't seem to have done the job, let alone a poor one.

MaryNB

RAS said:

Not just that but I believe the rate per unit for commercial meters is much higher than for domestic users probably with a high standing charge. Your freeholder doesn't seem to have done the job, let alone a poor one.

Yeah the VAT is charged at 20% instead of 5%.

eddddy

This sounds appalling.

It sounds like the developer is a complete cowboy. If they didn't get the electrics and water sorted out as part of the conversion, what else didn't they do properly as well?

Hopefully, the developer did at least re-wire the building so that each flat has it's own electrical circuits etc, as opposed to them all being connected to the old office circuits.


Anyway, it sounds like the bottom line is you don't have to pay the bill you've been presented with for the reasons you mention. But as the freeholder sounds like such a cowboy, I guess there's the risk is that the freeholder might retaliate by doing something stupid like cutting off your electricity.

In your position, I think I'd take the approach of saying I'm not even going to discuss paying this bill until the freeholder gets the electrics and water properly sorted out.


And maybe you should also look into legal options for getting the cowboy developer out of the picture. Like

• applying to a tribunal to get a manager appointed for the building (see https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/what-does-appointing-a-manager-mean/)

• getting the leaseholders together to form a 'Right to Manage' company to take over management of the building (see: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/right-manage/)

Sistergold

Oh dear! You really live and learn.

Murphybear

MaryNB said:

RAS said:

Not just that but I believe the rate per unit for commercial meters is much higher than for domestic users probably with a high standing charge. Your freeholder doesn't seem to have done the job, let alone a poor one.

Yeah the VAT is charged at 20% instead of 5%.

Water rates are higher as well.  As anyone who has run a small business knows the high cost of utilities can be crippling. 

RAS

Did you get a full survey before buying? and the Building Control sign-off?