Leasehold Flat, Buildings insurance fees req.

JR1987 · 13 August 2018 at 9:07PM

I moved into my first home in April. After what seemed like already endless amounts of money being paid out for nothing I thought it was done.

However even after my Service charge has come out, Estates charge, Ground rent I now get a bill of £226 for the buildings cover for the year sept 18 to sept 19. plus £20 "admin" charge.

I thought this was already covered in my other fees Im paying.. and even if it wasn't, this seems very expensive.

Am I basically forced to pay this inflated cost? Especially as this was never spoken about in the legal proceedings when purchasing the property. It was always going to be "ground rent and service charge" but then I find, "Estates charge £210 per year and Insurance £240 per year' added on. Doesnt seem fair.

somethingcorporate · 14 August 2018 at 11:49AM

That's life in a leasehold flat I am afraid. It's frequently a licence to print money for the management company and their 'in-cahoots' contractors.

Where we were the management company fee was a % of what was spent in any given year so where was their incentive to keep costs down for the leaseholders? It obviously didn't exist!!

Corthius · 22 August 2018 at 5:33PM

Hi JR1987,

It can certainly be frustrating after moving into a leasehold property and having to continue making payments of Ground Rent, Service Charge and any other monies owed under the terms of the Lease agreement.

One thing I would advise is to check under your Lease agreement whether the Building's Insurance is covered within your Service Charges.

Often, the insurance is detailed as part of the Service Charge contribution or 'Maintenance Expenses'. However, it can also be detailed separately and, of course, is payable separately. The administration charges for insurance are usually incurred as the agents you deal with will source insurance externally and use this as a contribution towards 'their time' for arranging the insurance.

With regards to the Estates Charge, again, I would have a look through your Lease to see where within this it confirms you are paying these all separately.

All of the payable monies owed under your Lease agreement should have detailed within any Leasehold Enquiries Pack made by your purchasing solicitors at the time.

Let me know if there is anything else I might be able to help with.

Thanks,

KM

Leasehold Flat, Buildings insurance fees req.

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