Leasehold service charge surprise - What are my options?

eddddy

35har1old said:

But is he a tenant or landlord

The OP says they own a leasehold apartment.  So that would make the OP the leaseholder.

(The formal legal term for 'a leaseholder' is 'a tenant' - hence the reference to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. But I think that calling the OP 'a tenant' in this thread might cause more confusion, rather than less.)

CyberStein said:

I've lived here since 2020 and own my property, however it is leasehold and present in an apartment block which is managed. 

saajan_12

CyberStein said:

Hi there.

Yesterday I found an invoice for £5500 in service charges backdated to 2020 in my postbox. It was addressed 17 September 2024.

I've lived here since 2020 and own my property, however it is leasehold and present in an apartment block which is managed. As far back as I can remember, I've not once had contact with the management company about the service charges, however I have regularly paid ground rent.

The management company renamed at one point and then got taken over by another since, but I'm certain there's been no attempt to get me to pay these service charges since I moved in, and honestly, and maybe embarassingly, they slipped my mind (there's been a hell of a lot going on over these years...), but it seems with the constantly swapping of management companies etc, I may have slipped the net with them.

I've had contact with the various management companies over the years, including the billing department, and not once have they queried the lack of payment of these service charges.

To be clear have you not paid *any* service charges in the last 5 years, or only not paid the portion from that management company circa 2020? 

If the latter, then I can understand since these bills are often annual, with estimates and then revisions etc.. it can keep the more organised among us losing track a little.. 

CyberStein

saajan_12 said:

CyberStein said:

Hi there.

Yesterday I found an invoice for £5500 in service charges backdated to 2020 in my postbox. It was addressed 17 September 2024.

I've lived here since 2020 and own my property, however it is leasehold and present in an apartment block which is managed. As far back as I can remember, I've not once had contact with the management company about the service charges, however I have regularly paid ground rent.

The management company renamed at one point and then got taken over by another since, but I'm certain there's been no attempt to get me to pay these service charges since I moved in, and honestly, and maybe embarassingly, they slipped my mind (there's been a hell of a lot going on over these years...), but it seems with the constantly swapping of management companies etc, I may have slipped the net with them.

I've had contact with the various management companies over the years, including the billing department, and not once have they queried the lack of payment of these service charges.

To be clear have you not paid *any* service charges in the last 5 years, or only not paid the portion from that management company circa 2020? 

If the latter, then I can understand since these bills are often annual, with estimates and then revisions etc.. it can keep the more organised among us losing track a little.. 

It may be that the initial service charges were paid when I completed, but I'm pretty sure I've never had any contact from the management company requesting service charges since I've been living here.

I'm wondering if part of this is that the management company renamed and then got taken over, so lots of inner working stuff going on there throughout the years.