Share of freehold certificate not given

camsadge

I purchased my flat in June 2020 which was a share of freehold.

I've recently received an email from my solicitor saying the share of freehold hasn't been given to me. When my solicitor applied for this the management company asked for £180 to transfer it (all documents relating to this had been sent to the management company) my solicitor contested this as there shouldn't of been a charge for me. (I had no knowledge of this) I've been forwarded all emails and around December 2020 was the last one sent from my solicitor saying there shouldn't be a charge. 

They started chasing this up again in December 2022. The management company has changed (new management company brought out the old one) and the documentation has been lost from the seller even though they are still based in the same office with the same phone number. The new management company are now saying I need to contact the seller and get them to resign the forms for me to get the share of freehold certificate issued. I was never given any contact information for the seller when they moved.

My solicitor is saying for me to submit a complaint to the management company as it was their responsibility to take over from previous management company. 

I would like to know if this is true or does my solicitor have some responsibility as they didn't inform me that I could of got the certificate if I paid £180 and they left it 2 years without following up. The solicitor is now saying if I want them to continue this I have to pay their hourly fee. 

diystarter7

Hi OP
I'm trying to thik back to the one time we bought for cash a BTL apartment in London The certificate was with all the other paperwork we got. However, our fees were detailed but I can't recall any payment for that but most likely there was as I often only look at the total amount and skim over the rest.

If our solicitor had not told us re the certificate I would not have kow as it was our first leasehold property,

IMO, a bit of good will is needed by the new management company and from what you have said I hold your solicitor responsible for not advising you appropriately

Was this solicitor and online outfit or one that is long established and has a high street shop? I ask as I only use one we know of and recommended but never online as these are cheaper but in the scheme of things it does not matter and I prefer real people to see and sign and talk to.

If I was you, before trying to make it formal, see if there is any good will form any side and then thik about the time and effort you will need to spend and the stress. However, I do blame your sollictor. I'm sure someone will disagree with me

Thnaks

camsadge

This was my first purchase so I had thought everything had gone through okay. 

It was a local solicitor which had good reviews online. From what they've sent me there shouldn't of been a fee and the new management company have agreed this. So the main issue is they didn't follow this up for 2 years. If I was informed I would of probably paid the fee as it'll probably cost a lot more to sort out. 

The problem now is the paperwork has been lost so the new management company won't issue the certificate without the seller signing again which I have no contact details with and I've spoken to a few neighbours and neither do they.

I'm not sure how well the good will will work. I've emailed my current management company and they've sent one response saying they will look into this which they cc'd my solicitor which said they will respond within 5 days. This was sent on the 19th of January. I've tried to follow this up with no response further. 

AskAsk

if you are trying to get hold of the seller, then the EA is the one who will have their contact details.  if you email the EA and ask them to pass your contact details to the seller and ask if the seller would be kind enough to contact you to sort out an issue with the freehold share certificate transfer.

most people will be in touch as they feel responsible for something that they had sold.