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I have a flat in a building of 4 converted flats which the management company seem to have no clue over the law. I am the only leaseholder now as the company have bought up other flats in the building as they came up for sale. My flat is rented out. I have never been given the opportunity to supply building quotes for work, or had notice of work to be done/ expected costs. They charge £360 per year management fee, and do nothing for it.
The management company have never once sent the charges for ground rent/ service/ building issues on the proper notice in the 10 years Ive owned it. They have a habit of demanding several years charges altogether as one giant bill, which I know is not legal. They have even threatened forfeiture of the lease, even though the lease specifically disallows it, as does the law.
I recently received a bill for 5 years of charges -£1,169. ( Some of which were already paid on the previous bill, & included building works from 2012! ) again, on no 166 notice, just photocopied headed paper summary. A friend advised me of the illegality of the bill so I wrote and corrected the amounts due. No response.
They have now, without any notice, or knowledge prior to me, transferred the collection of the charges to another management firm of conveyancers. I have never heard of this firm, had any dealings with them, and have not been told by the existing management company that they would give my details to them, nor notified that they would/ had.
The new firm demanded a lesser amount of £784 ( still with errors) going back to 2010 for "arrears," with the full amount on one bill with a 166 notice attached.
They seem to expect me to set up a direct debit for regular payments, with no word on if I will get the legal notice of not. The ground rent is due twice yearly in June and December, now of which has been demanded until now by either firm.
Can the existing management firm just pass on my details without even telling me they would? Also, do I have to deal with this new company who seem to be still trying it on as to what they can charge for.
A subsequent bill from the second company arrived that was broken down into portions, with a request to pay each ground rent year due on a separate bill. I feel they are trying to get around the law in splitting the bills as no more than £500 can be demanded on one bill to my knowledge.
Please advise, I am totally confused by their actions and suspect they may try to get me out of the property using forfeiture. I have not said that I will not pay, just that the charges are incorrect or unfair. So far I have not responded to company b. Their letters state I have 30 days to pay in full, which I am sure is incorrect if there is dispute, and I cant afford to. I did offer existing company to pay this years charges only if sent on proper notice. The result was to hand me on to firm b without telling me.
This bill has had varying amounts, was requested by two different companies, on three separate occasions, on varying notices, surely this cannot be legal from an unfair demand point of view in the very least?
Exactly what am I liable for?
many thanks
The management company have never once sent the charges for ground rent/ service/ building issues on the proper notice in the 10 years Ive owned it. They have a habit of demanding several years charges altogether as one giant bill, which I know is not legal. They have even threatened forfeiture of the lease, even though the lease specifically disallows it, as does the law.
I recently received a bill for 5 years of charges -£1,169. ( Some of which were already paid on the previous bill, & included building works from 2012! ) again, on no 166 notice, just photocopied headed paper summary. A friend advised me of the illegality of the bill so I wrote and corrected the amounts due. No response.
They have now, without any notice, or knowledge prior to me, transferred the collection of the charges to another management firm of conveyancers. I have never heard of this firm, had any dealings with them, and have not been told by the existing management company that they would give my details to them, nor notified that they would/ had.
The new firm demanded a lesser amount of £784 ( still with errors) going back to 2010 for "arrears," with the full amount on one bill with a 166 notice attached.
They seem to expect me to set up a direct debit for regular payments, with no word on if I will get the legal notice of not. The ground rent is due twice yearly in June and December, now of which has been demanded until now by either firm.
Can the existing management firm just pass on my details without even telling me they would? Also, do I have to deal with this new company who seem to be still trying it on as to what they can charge for.
A subsequent bill from the second company arrived that was broken down into portions, with a request to pay each ground rent year due on a separate bill. I feel they are trying to get around the law in splitting the bills as no more than £500 can be demanded on one bill to my knowledge.
Please advise, I am totally confused by their actions and suspect they may try to get me out of the property using forfeiture. I have not said that I will not pay, just that the charges are incorrect or unfair. So far I have not responded to company b. Their letters state I have 30 days to pay in full, which I am sure is incorrect if there is dispute, and I cant afford to. I did offer existing company to pay this years charges only if sent on proper notice. The result was to hand me on to firm b without telling me.
This bill has had varying amounts, was requested by two different companies, on three separate occasions, on varying notices, surely this cannot be legal from an unfair demand point of view in the very least?
Exactly what am I liable for?
many thanks
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