Property lawyers - Need advice regarding sublet fee

[vkcs22]

Hi All

I own (leaseholder) a studio flat which is currently being let out.

The Freeholder (E&M Solitaire ltd) has recently sent me an invoice asking for £220 as a "sublet" fee. This fee is on top of the already excessive ground rent and service charges.

Any ideas on how to dispute this?

Any advise much appreciated.

[tobeee]

vkcs22 said:

Hi All

I own (leaseholder) a studio flat which is currently being let out.

The Freeholder (E&M Solitaire ltd) has recently sent me an invoice asking for £220 as a "sublet" fee. This fee is on top of the already excessive ground rent and service charges.

Any ideas on how to dispute this?

Any advise much appreciated.

The answer will be in your Lease. I own a leasehold flat and went through the same thing with the freeholder, as their charge rose rapidly to £600 for every new tenant! The service charge/ground rent/registration charge etc. are irrelevant, as they are able to charge pretty much what they like for producing the licence to sublet. I recall in Googling similar cases and discussions with my lawyer that the fair charge would be about 50 quid, so my freeholder was taking the piss. The wording in my lease isn't clear cut, so I invested in a lawyer, and although wasn't able to remove the need for consent, I did manage to persuade the freeholder to commit to charging just £100, which was a great result. It'll take a couple of years to break even from the legal fees, but I'm glad I got the legal help as at least it give me some comfort that I won't see the price rise and rise year on year (until a new freeholder takes over of course!).

Good luck!

[Ozzie Osmond]

tobeee said:

the fair charge would be about 50 quid

That's optimistic.

However, as you have rightly said the answer will be in the lease. E&M and other ground landlords are very active these days in hoovering up sub-letting fees from the booming BTL market.

[Jockman]

Ever considered Right to Manage (RTM)?

[tobeee]

Ozzie Osmond said:

That's optimistic.

Yep, which is why I was chuffed with an agreement on £100!

[tobeee]

Jockman said:

Ever considered Right to Manage (RTM)?

Ours is a small block of eight, mainly sublet, and though we did once have a very strong tenants' association, it's been a bit dysfunctional last couple of years. So, to be honest, I'd rather have the freeholder's managing agent to look after the day to day stuff. If you are referring to the right to purchase the freehold, the poor ratio of owner-occupiers is against us at the mo, but I would jump at the chance to buy the freehold if we did qualify.

[Wings]

No, refers to Right to Manage, ie Self Management, see following link, good free telephone legal advice

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

I own several leasehold rental flats, taking over Self Management on two blocks of four leasehold flats.

The apathy exhibited by leaseholders in not getting actively involved in the management of their leasehold block, leads me to believe that they encourage, and deserve to be ripped off by their management companies.

An example to any leaseholder reading this post, is for them to make a request to their management company under Section 21 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, for their block's property building insurance certificate. Then obtain like minded quotes from local insurance brokers, since I am certain the same will show one's management company, making between 100 to 300% hidden commission.

The above, like the OP's posting, are only a few examples of how leaseholders are being ripped off by management companies, through their hidden charges.

[Jockman]

tobeee said:

Jockman said:

Ever considered Right to Manage (RTM)?

Ours is a small block of eight, mainly sublet, and though we did once have a very strong tenants' association, it's been a bit dysfunctional last couple of years. So, to be honest, I'd rather have the freeholder's managing agent to look after the day to day stuff. If you are referring to the right to purchase the freehold, the poor ratio of owner-occupiers is against us at the mo, but I would jump at the chance to buy the freehold if we did qualify.

Yes I was alluding to RTM as a first step to freehold purchase as recently witnessed one. You know your property best. All the best.

[Jockman]

Wings said:

The above, like the OP's posting, are only a few examples of how leaseholders are being ripped off by management companies, through their hidden charges.

Agreed. The scheme I saw is 32 flats. The RTM process was expensive especially as landlord legals had to be paid but the savings are substantial and greater control over sinking funds is always welcome.

[vkcs22]

Many thanks for all your useful comments guys. Much appreciated.

I have been looking into the RTM route but things can move very slowly when we need the involvement of other leaseholders.