FTT scam

[eagle2]

Just to clarify #2, the FTT has limited jurisdiction and your question was whether or not a reserve fund being part of service charge expenditure could be challenged by a leaseholder. The FTT can only consider whether or not the amount of service charge expenditure is payable, the amount which is payable,...

[eagle2]

The following warning appears on the FTT website


We’re aware of people receiving fraudulent calls from telephone numbers mimicking genuine court or tribunal numbers. This is a scam. The callers may request payment and claim to be from HMRC or other government departments. If you...

[eagle2]

What happened to the question and the other replies?

[eagle2]

I think that a leaseholder would only be able to challenge the charge if he/she is able to demonstrate that the charge is unreasonable, he/she is unlikely to succeed only on the amount being determined by a managing agent rather than a surveyor....

[eagle2]

Note on page 6 of the code, it states that compliance with the best practice guidance given is not mandatory but managing agents (and presumably others) should be able to justify departures from it. That implies that there may be satisfactory grounds for not complying with best practice.

[eagle2]

It is important as well to check if the lease requires the reserve/sinking fund to be held in a separate bank client account. If there is only a general bank client account, it is often raided for other purposes....

[eagle2]

ok I am with you. The directors can arrange to meet in any way that they choose eg by telephone conversation, email exchanges, Zoom etc, it does not need to be a physical meeting. They can also reach decisions by any means they choose, word of mouth, show of hands, email etc. although it is preferable...

[eagle2]

I think that it depends on the Bank and I can only suggest that you enquire directly. They used to require you to visit a branch and produce id and proof of address etc but they may be more flexible these days.

[eagle2]

With difficulty is the answer, the budget has probably been inflated to compensate. You are probably fortunate that no sinking fund exists because it is unlikely that there would be any bank balance remaining. I am even more persuaded that you should not pay anything more to the freeholder as it is...

[eagle2]

I recommend that you ask the freeholder as soon as possible, You are going to have difficulty running the RTM if only 50% of the contributions are being received so you should also contact the other 2 leaseholders and try to get them on board.

[eagle2]

Your lease should state who is responsible for the lighting. The agent is simply that, an agent, who acts on behalf of somebody else. Whether or not there may be a claim against the agent will depend on the terms of the agreement with that agent. You may wish to enquire what insurance cover is provided...

[eagle2]

The intention of a reserve fund is to spread the costs of "use and occupation" as evenly as possible throughout the life of the lease to prevent penalising leaseholders who happen to be in occupation at a particular moment when major expenditure occurs. RICS code 7.5.

The problem...

[eagle2]

The RTM will need to know the service charge arrears at the time of the handover and receive service charges as and when they are collected. I would recommend that the RTM obtains more information and considers collecting them on behalf of the freeholder so that it is aware of the ongoing position....

[eagle2]

I suspect that the freeholder will deduct all expenditure from any monies which he has received, so you will need to collect any arrears, which should be advised to you at the handover....

[eagle2]

The service charge accounts should be prepared within 6 months of the year end, so in your case 25 September at the latest. Waiting 3 months before making a start on the accounts seems to be an excuse, outstanding charges are often estimated and adjusted when the actual bills arrive. It is worth inspecting...

[eagle2]

The RTM will be responsible for the current service charge year and the freeholder is only entitled to recover any expenditure which he has paid for this current year, he must hand over any surplus monies which he holds. It depends on what the current bank balance is, if it is sufficient to meet outgoings...

[eagle2]

Macromia is correct, a s166 notice should be issued together with a formal demand before ground rent is payable,

By paying ground rent and applying for an extension of your leases counts against you as accepting the freeholder. On the other hand, X's attempt to transfer the freehold interest...

[eagle2]

That is a valid point, HMRC may well be interested in the transaction and it is definitely a negotiating point....

[eagle2]

It will not take legal action, by the time it came to court, it would have no authority to act and your defence would be that you have paid the RTM. I would be even more wary of paying anything else to the old management company.

[eagle2]

It depends on the wording of your lease but usually you only have a contract (lease) with the RMC, which has a separate contract (lease) with the superior freeholder. So the superior freeholder would not normally have any direct obligations to you. Presumably the leaseholder pays 50% of the costs or...