Coppen Estates. . . .Sheffield

[Cyclone]

We sold our house and Coppen wanted increased the ground rent from £30 a year to £160 for the new buyers.

Mike Haslam who is an expert in this area dealt with this for us. We signed something (cant remember what it was called) for the new buyers to purchase the freehold under our name and in two years it would become theirs. The buyers paid all the fees except the first £3000 which it would have cost to buy the added years on the leasehold.

 

Aren't leases fixed, they can't just increase them because the house is being sold...

[trackrunner]

Aren't leases fixed, they can't just increase them because the house is being sold...

I'm quite happy to show you the paperwork where they said they will increase it.

[Cyclone]

I'm quite happy to show you the paperwork where they said they will increase it.

 

I'm not sure that will really prove anything though. What they say and what is legal are often different from what I've heard.

[trackrunner]

I'm not sure that will really prove anything though. What they say and what is legal are often different from what I've heard.

 

Too late now it was 8 month's ago when I moved, its all done

[vincentb]

I'm quite happy to show you the paperwork where they said they will increase it.

 

Were they actually allowed to increase it, or were they just trying it on?

[Cyclone]

Too late now it was 8 month's ago when I moved, its all done

 

They might well say the same thing to other people who will read this thread though.

 

So worth clarifying (I was hoping Jeffrey might know).

[spider1]

They might well say the same thing to other people who will read this thread though.

 

So worth clarifying (I was hoping Jeffrey might know).

 

I would have thaught if it was legal the majority of lease holders would do it .Well spotted Cyclone :suspect:

[Cyclone]

I'm still hoping that Jeffrey might clarify, although he has answered a similar question in the past.

 

Since the 80's he said, it's more common for leases to have an escalator clause, although this more often applies to flats than to houses.

 

I also found this

 

You will normally have to pay ground rent to your freeholder. This will be an annual charge. The lease should say when and how this charge can be increased.

I guess there could be a clause in the lease saying the ground rent can be revised when the property is sold, maybe...

I'd bet £20 that Coppen were just trying it on though.

 

---------- Post added 15-01-2016 at 16:43 ----------

 

Apparently trackrunner is closing her account, so she won't be replying to this thread unfortunately.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Aren't leases fixed, they can't just increase them because the house is being sold...

No but some leases contain 'ground rent escalator' clauses by which rent is increased- either using a fixed formula or RPI etc.

[iwbsheff]

For what it's worth I thought I'd post a 'happy ending' update to my saga with Coppen. As a result of a strongly worded letter, quoting my compliance with s164, threatening tribunal if necessary and sending this year's s164 notice Fully Tracked Special Delivery (which costs around £8 - not as much as their insurance charge but....) it seems they have backed down and this year's invoice contained no reference to an insurance charge, or last year's demand being carried over.

 

Thanks to Jeffrey (and others) for their replies and advice. It goes to show persistence and knowing your rights pays off.

 

Amusingly the invoice does carry an offer to me to pay several years' ground rent in advance (up to 10 years), which I think is not compliant with the 2002 act either, I didn't think it was worth winding them up about that.

 

I'll think still be buying my freehold at some point, as I don't want Coppen being a pain in the proverbial if/when we sell and move on.