Making Leaseholder Forfeit their Property??

LewisA77

I hope someone here might offer some advice. My family and I have lived in a ground-floor maisonette for about 15 years. Originally a semi-detached property, it was converted into two separate homes. Recently, we bought our maisonette through the Right to Buy scheme, which granted us the freehold of our property. However, the maisonette above us remains leasehold and is owned by a landlord.

Our new neighbours—who recently moved in above us—have turned out to be quite a nightmare. Their behaviour has been problematic in several ways: loud music at all hours, constant littering, disruptive banging and stomping, their dog making a mess in the shared outdoor areas, and frequent parties. To make matters worse, it seems they've been subletting their property.

I’ve reviewed their leasehold contract and it’s clear that they are in breach of several terms. Despite this, the landlord appears indifferent, possibly because the rent is being paid on time. I’ve tried contacting the landlord using the details I found on the Land Registry, but I haven’t received any response. It’s possible that the landlord is either disinterested or possibly even overseas.

I’ve been documenting everything meticulously, including photos and videos of the disturbances and breaches. What steps can I take to address this issue? Are there any legal avenues available to me to reclaim the property if the tenants are not complying with the lease terms? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

user1977

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

tacpot12

Contact your local council's environmental health team, but beware that they might refer you to a team that deals with antisocial behaviour or tenants.

There is no possibility of reclaiming the property from the tenants, but it might be possble to reclaim it from the landlord and then evict the tenants (You would become the tenant's landlord and have all the legal responsibilities to the tenants that this implies). You will need professional legal advice about reclaiming the leasehold from the landlord, and I expect it will be very expensive as the landlord is potentially losing £100,000+, so will probably be happy to spend £10,000+ defending your action. I would also expect that your action would fail at the moment as the council can take action against the tenants and this option hasn't been exhausted yet. 

LewisA77

user1977 said:

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

Thanks for your response. Based on what I’ve found from various legal sources, forfeiture is a process where the freeholder (landlord) can regain possession of a leasehold property when the leaseholder has breached a term of the lease or covenant. This means that the right to forfeit is exercised by the freeholder to regain peaceable possession of the property, rather than an individual claiming the property without following legal protocols. So, in this context, I’m following the proper legal procedure for dealing with a breach of the lease agreement.

noitsnotme

LewisA77 said:

user1977 said:

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

Thanks for your response. Based on what I’ve found from various legal sources, forfeiture is a process where the freeholder (landlord) can regain possession of a leasehold property when the leaseholder has breached a term of the lease or covenant. This means that the right to forfeit is exercised by the freeholder to regain peaceable possession of the property, rather than an individual claiming the property without following legal protocols. So, in this context, I’m following the proper legal procedure for dealing with a breach of the lease agreement.

But you’re not the landlord of the other flat.  Or are you saying you hold the freehold for both flats, yours and the one above?

LewisA77

tacpot12 said:

Contact your local council's environmental health team, but beware that they might refer you to a team that deals with antisocial behaviour or tenants.

There is no possibility of reclaiming the property from the tenants, but it might be possble to reclaim it from the landlord and then evict the tenants (You would become the tenant's landlord and have all the legal responsibilities to the tenants that this implies). You will need professional legal advice about reclaiming the leasehold from the landlord, and I expect it will be very expensive as the landlord is potentially losing £100,000+, so will probably be happy to spend £10,000+ defending your action. I would also expect that your action would fail at the moment as the council can take action against the tenants and this option hasn't been exhausted yet. 

Thanks for your advice. I have already contacted the local council’s environmental health team. They mentioned that since this is a leasehold property and I am the freeholder residing in the property, there’s not much they can do, which I found unusual. I plan to reach out to them again for further clarification.

In the meantime, it seems the landlord is either unresponsive or overseas, and I have struggled to get any resolution despite over three months of attempts. Given the circumstances, I am prepared to invest a significant amount of money to address this issue. From my assessment, the landlord might not put up much of a defense given the property's value of around £50,000. I appreciate your insights and will definitely consider consulting with a professional for further legal advice on this matter.

FlorayG

As above - if you do not own the freehold of the flat above then the person you need to contact is the person who does

LewisA77

noitsnotme said:

LewisA77 said:

user1977 said:

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

Thanks for your response. Based on what I’ve found from various legal sources, forfeiture is a process where the freeholder (landlord) can regain possession of a leasehold property when the leaseholder has breached a term of the lease or covenant. This means that the right to forfeit is exercised by the freeholder to regain peaceable possession of the property, rather than an individual claiming the property without following legal protocols. So, in this context, I’m following the proper legal procedure for dealing with a breach of the lease agreement.

But you’re not the landlord of the other flat.  Or are you saying you hold the freehold for both flats, yours and the one above?

To clarify, the property in question is indeed a leasehold, and I am the freeholder for the entire building. I own the building, and the landlord of the flat above, who is a leaseholder, pays me ground rent. So, as the freeholder, I have the authority over the whole building, including the leasehold flat in question.

TheJP

LewisA77 said:

noitsnotme said:

LewisA77 said:

user1977 said:

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

Thanks for your response. Based on what I’ve found from various legal sources, forfeiture is a process where the freeholder (landlord) can regain possession of a leasehold property when the leaseholder has breached a term of the lease or covenant. This means that the right to forfeit is exercised by the freeholder to regain peaceable possession of the property, rather than an individual claiming the property without following legal protocols. So, in this context, I’m following the proper legal procedure for dealing with a breach of the lease agreement.

But you’re not the landlord of the other flat.  Or are you saying you hold the freehold for both flats, yours and the one above?

To clarify, the property in question is indeed a leasehold, and I am the freeholder for the entire building. I own the building, and the landlord of the flat above, who is a leaseholder, pays me ground rent. So, as the freeholder, I have the authority over the whole building, including the leasehold flat in question.

How certain are you off this? Surely the leaseholder would have been notified/consulted if the freehold of the property they lease is now owned by a previous leaseholder.

noitsnotme

LewisA77 said:

noitsnotme said:

LewisA77 said:

user1977 said:

What gave you the idea you could "reclaim" another leaseholder's property? That's a remedy for the freeholder, you can't just claim yourself an extra flat! 

Thanks for your response. Based on what I’ve found from various legal sources, forfeiture is a process where the freeholder (landlord) can regain possession of a leasehold property when the leaseholder has breached a term of the lease or covenant. This means that the right to forfeit is exercised by the freeholder to regain peaceable possession of the property, rather than an individual claiming the property without following legal protocols. So, in this context, I’m following the proper legal procedure for dealing with a breach of the lease agreement.

But you’re not the landlord of the other flat.  Or are you saying you hold the freehold for both flats, yours and the one above?

To clarify, the property in question is indeed a leasehold, and I am the freeholder for the entire building. I own the building, and the landlord of the flat above, who is a leaseholder, pays me ground rent. So, as the freeholder, I have the authority over the whole building, including the leasehold flat in question.

That makes more sense now.  It wasn’t clear from your initial post.  It sounded more like you just owned a share of the freehold, rather than for the whole building.

HampshireH

As the new freeholder wouldn't you have had their details to serve notice to that you were the new freeholder and alongside a demand for ground rent?

Presumably you are also collecting a service charge you cover things like insurance.

If you have evidence they are in breach of the lease then wrote to them outlining this.

In terms of the tenants have you actually spoken to them at all? They absolutely will have the landlord details or if let by and agent get in touch with them