freeholder issues

[evey]

Hi, I purchased a property roughly 3 years ago - I also bought the freehold - it's a 2 storey conversion house, so divided into 2 flats ( i bought the ground floor bit). The lease stated that the leaseholder should be paying the ground rent ( thing that he forgets and or needs constant reminding!) and this is negligible. The leaseholder is also meant to share the building insurance but he hasn't done so in the last years and i had to take him to court to get half of the money - he still hasnt contributed to the next year's share and it would probably mean i need to take him to court, yet again. On top of all this hassle, the initial lease state that he is meant to share the expenses for the shared front door and pathway but he thinks the deed of variation does not explicitly say so. He doesn't pay a service charge, because he doesn't think there's any shared expense ( if only i could bar him from using the front shared door!) and there has been a constant leak over the last 3 years from his flat to my property and he is not fixing it. I would have thought this means he is not looking after the flat and that's having major implications on my flat ( ceiling fell through last month) and had to claim on the insurance but he now refuses to pay the excess even though he caused the leak! i really want to know what do i do as a freeholder!!!! any suggestions?? thanks

[PropertySolutions]

Hi Evey

We have recently been appointed to deal with a very similiar situation which is enforcing your leaseholders compliance with the terms of the lease.

Whatever the leaseholders perception of their obligation is, their use of the building the terms of their contribution including maintenance, repairs and Insurance are clearly detailed in the lease.

Under the circumstances you are entitled to appoint a managing agent to fulfil your role as freeholder and collect any of these costs and charges form your leaseholder.

Further information can be obtained through our website.