Who is responsible for owed ground rent?

jammydodga

eddddy said:

jammydodga said:

We bought a house in 2022, it was a leasehold property that the sellers were in the process of buying the freehold.  Just before completion we had confirmation that the freehold purchase had gone through.  Fast forward to last week, I opened a letter that’s from the property management company for our estate (opened in error, not addressed to us) stating they are owed money in ground rent.  As we bought the property as a freehold, can they make us pay? There was never any mention of ground rent payments from any party when we purchased.  I’ve emailed the conveyancing company we used, but have yet to receive a reply, and I’m reluctant to contact the company in case they want to try make us pay! 

Has the ground rent bill just been issued, or is it a 'reminder' for a bill that was issued before you owned the freehold?


If it's a newly issued bill, I'm not sure that it's valid. Because when you became freeholder / landlord you took over the right to issue new ground rent bills (including bills for historic ground rent).

(So as freeholder, you can issue a bill to yourself as leaseholder!)


But if the letter is a reminder for a bill was first issued before you became freeholder, then it's a legitimate bill that is payable by the previous leaseholder.

I think it’s a reminder, judging by the local residents group, everyone has had one, but they’ve been told they know they’ve heard nothing from them since 2018, but they want paying. I’ll try get ahold of my conveyancer tomorrow and ask their advice.  Thank you

eddddy

jammydodga said:

I think it’s a reminder, judging by the local residents group, everyone has had one, but they’ve been told they know they’ve heard nothing from them since 2018, but they want paying. I’ll try get ahold of my conveyancer tomorrow and ask their advice.  Thank you

OK - so like I say, if the original bill was issued before you became freeholder, then the previous leaseholder owes the money to the previous freeholder (via their management company).

In that case, you're not liable.

But FWIW, most freeholders (or their management companies) would be adding hefty late fees to their ground rent bills, if they were sending out reminders for unpaid bills which were issued in 2022.



(But your post sounds a bit confusing - on one hand your saying that the residents haven't heard anything since 2018, but on the other hand you're saying they received ground rent bills sometime in 2022 or before.)

jammydodga

eddddy said:

jammydodga said:

I think it’s a reminder, judging by the local residents group, everyone has had one, but they’ve been told they know they’ve heard nothing from them since 2018, but they want paying. I’ll try get ahold of my conveyancer tomorrow and ask their advice.  Thank you

OK - so like I say, if the original bill was issued before you became freeholder, then the previous leaseholder owes the money to the previous freeholder (via their management company).

In that case, you're not liable.

But FWIW, most freeholders (or their management companies) would be adding hefty late fees to their ground rent bills, if they were sending out reminders for unpaid bills which were issued in 2022.



(But your post sounds a bit confusing - on one hand your saying that the residents haven't heard anything since 2018, but on the other hand you're saying they received ground rent bills sometime in 2022 or before.)

I’m confused myself! There’s a fee of £24 if it’s not paid within 7 days. My understanding was people held it back due to many issues on the estate. 

Thank you for your advice, I feel a lot better about the situation! 

eddddy

jammydodga said:

There’s a fee of £24 if it’s not paid within 7 days. My understanding was people held it back due to many issues on the estate. 

It doesn't affect you, as you now own your freehold - but just as general info, it would be a very bad idea for the other  leaseholders to withhold their ground rent. That's likely to result in lots of late fees, followed by legal action.



And to be honest, regarding the ground rent bill you've received for your property, my guess would be, either...

• somebody has made a mistake in sending your bill - e.g. they were looking at an old list of leaseholders from before 2022

• or, the ex-freeholder / management co is taking a punt - they know they haven't got a valid claim for ground rent for your property, but they've sent a bill anyway, to see if somebody pays it