help please! freeholder - hostile response to remortgage

[Peachesandcherries]

hi, I'd like some urgent advice if possible as I'm very worried. I've just completed a remortgage on my leasehold flat. It went through about two weeks ago and I used the conveyancers of the bank I was remortgaging with as it was included with my remortgage. It's a well known high street bank. I've just received quite a hostile email from my freeholder asking me when or where did I discuss this with him and attaching a letter from the conveyancers to him that the mortgage had been completed.

When I proceeded, I filled out all the forms including his details and just followed that process. I had no idea I needed to contact him myself. Have I done anything wrong? i have a tricky relationship with him so am feeling quite stressed.

Would appreciate any advice.

What does the lease state? You need to read the terms of the lease not just complete the mortgage forms provided by the bank.

It's really, really important with any leasehold property to understand your obligations as a tenant, the freeholder's obligations and any requirements to notify and/or obtain permission. Worst case scenario you're in breach of the lease and the lease could be forfeited.

Why are you not on good terms with the freeholder?

Oh dear. I'll have to have a look. We're not on good terms because of a dispute with another leasehold flat above me who wanted to airbnb his property in the building. My freeholder was reluctant to do anything although the lease says it is not allowed. In the end, he did refuse it but the other flat kicked up a fuss and I think it has aggrieved him as he wanted to allow it.

That sounds weird because it's not as if you're changing the lease you're just remortgaging? I might be wrong but what is it to him as long as you pay your charges & fees.

Agreed. He’s been a massive dick in the past.

so just read my lease and it looks like I should have notified him in writing “no later than one month after” this has happened. I only completed on the 15th feb.

Property solicitor here. Check with the solicitors that did the remortgage but from what you’ve said I don’t think it’s anything to worry about/the freeholder is being a dick. It’s usual for tenants of resi leases to have to have to notify the freeholder of a charge, not least because the lender requires it. It sounds like it’s this that’s triggered him approaching you. I’d be surprised if it’s anything more than that.

Thank you! Could I ask what you would recommend replying to his saying “can you indicate where/when we discussed this?”

from the letter he attached from the bank’s conveyancing solicitors, they inform him that the charge (new mortgage) and transfer of ownership from join to sole has been completed and they also say his payment as requested is enclosed by cheque. The letter is also stamped as being received two weeks ago!

So it's more than a remortgage? It's a transfer of ownership from joint to sole?
You really need to check the lease carefully what it says.
Maybe the easiest way to go is to say to him "oh sorry the solicitors were handling all the correspondence. I didn't realise I needed to speak with you separately. Apologies for that"

Quite possibly. It’s just that from reading the lease, I don’t believe I’ve done anything wrong. It says I have notify him within one month of any change going through.

I wouldn’t mind being the bigger person and just swallowing it down but there is a history of bullying and disingenuous behaviour from him and a developer who has bought another leasehold flat in the building and I don’t want to set this pattern where they seem to want to intimidate me.

Check the exact words of your lease. If possible, get the conveyancer to do it for you.
It seems freeholder is indicating you should have checked with him or asked his permission before you did it.
As you are on a mortgageable long lease it would be very unusual for you to be actively prevented from remortgaging by the freeholder or indeed to need to request its permission. As you have already stated, you need to notify him after.
Assuming there is no obligation to notify or discuss in advance just say, "I'm complying with my lease and you'll receive the relevant notice within one month".

If it says you need to notify him within a month and it went through on 15th Feb I would write to him now, quote that section and say you’re notifying him as per this line.

Is he confused about his duties as freeholder? Does he think he is a landlord rather then a freeholder?

He seems to be confused about where he stands legally generally. With you with the other leaseholder. These things are usually clear cut.and it seems like he doesn't understand his role and is getting very reactive.

It's shit of him if he's overreacting to you because of what someone else did previously.

I would respond with. ' there is no requirement to inform you of the remortgage.' Then quite the relevent passage in you contract. Then say ' you will be informed officially within the stated timeframe as per contract' or similar. Keep it short, unemotional and factual.

Wouldn’t like to say exactly as it depends on the wording of the lease. Take advice from your solicitor but it’s not usual in a long lease for you to have to get
consent from him for anything to do with charges or transfers of any kind so you might just want to refer him to your solicitor if he has any queries. That might be enough to make him shut up

Just to add: the solicitors acting for the bank will have been acting for you as well so you’re within your rights to talk to them about this

Thanks so much everyone for your advice.

just to say the other thing that worries me is that he wrote to me a few weeks ago to say that he had granted permission to the other leaseholder (this developer) to build on top of his flat and that this leaseholder would now take full responsibility for the costs of the roof, which at the moment is split within three.

I replied to say this would need to be updates in the lease and he said yes the developer would get a new lease and I replied that my rights and obligations would also need to be updated through a deed of variation. He never replied and so I chased for a reply last week and he replied to say he was getting an estimate of costs for the deed of variation but that the deal with the other flat was not completed yet in any case.

I am worried as it all sounds a bit shady. I’m sure that I would need to re negotiate the service charge, buildings insurance etc as well which at the moment is an equal split three ways.

if im
difficult about this most recent email, I can see he might try and screw me over with this new development.

Yeah it sounds like he’s getting shitty with you because you are getting into the detail
of contracts elsewhere but he thinks, not your own. How did he communicate his unhappiness re. lack of communication?

I would be inclined to just ignore his communication and notify him separately according to the contractual obligations. It sounds like your relationship has soured but you don’t want it to sour further by being antagonistic as you might need him onside at some point down the line.

You are right. If all needs looking at properly. Don’t wait around for them to do something, get a solicitor to look at it for you now.

I doubt you need FH permission but they should be notified about change of ownership of the lease (from joint ownership to single ownership). Join the National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group. They offer support and advice.

Hi everyone, the bank’s solicitors called me to say it’s fine and that there is no requirement in my lease saying I need his consent or to discuss it with him but simply need to inform the freeholder of the mortgage and transfer of ownership within a month of it occurring. They said their letter to him was effectively doing that on my behalf and I can quote my section of the lease.

I also contacted another solicitor who reviewed it and said the same thing.