Absent freeholder since purchase in 2011 suddenly appears?

Reply to the comment left by Freda Blogs at 22/10/2020 - 12:08
Hi Freda,

Thanks for the reply. As above, I have instructed a solicitor to handle this as I have received legal letters from the freeholder's solicitor now. The lease agreement is no service charge and peppercorn rental (so too small to collect). The agreement is silent on a lot of points although it does say his permission should have been given to erect the conservatory but as above it was put in 2014 and I only bought the bottom flat last year (2019) with it on. It also looks like the freeholder moved address in 2013 so I am not sure how anyone is meant to be able to contact him.

Reply to the comment left by Ron H-W at 22/10/2020 - 12:26
Hi Ron, Thanks for the reply. The leasehold is no service charge and a peppercorn rental (so too small to collect). The agreement is silent on a lot of things but does say permission should be sought to erect the conservatory. It was put up on 2014 by the previous owner and I only purchased the bottom flat last year 2019. As mentioned on some other replies, it looks like the freeholder moved in 2013 from the address on the land registry so I am not sure how anyone is meant to be able to contact him? No one on the estate, knows this man or has his contact details. He has just turned up out of nowhere but according to the leasehold, he is the freeholder. I understand the council tried to contact him in the last 12 months as there was a large tree on the grounds that needed cutting down but they could not reach him (as per the old address) and all the residents and flat owners had to chip in to get a private firm to cut it down. As mentioned, we all look after the grounds ourselves and chip in for any work that needs doing as the freeholder has been absent and unreachable.

Reply to the comment left by BernieW at 26/10/2020 - 14:18
Hi Bernie,

There is no service charge and its a peppercorn rental (so too small to collect). The lease agreement is silent on a lot of points but does say permissions should have been given for the conservatory to be put up. It was put up in 2014 but the previous owner, prior to my ownership. The chap has been absent for at least 10 years, no one knows him on the estate and he does not look after any maintenance or has anything to do with the flats. He has just turned up from nowhere exercising his rights as the freeholder.

Reply to the comment left by MattH at 07/12/2020 - 14:28
Hi Matt

Ask your solicitor about whether FH has 'acquiesced in the breach' of the conservatory - you may need to put together a timeline of events) and/or if he can be 'estopped' from taking action (doctrine of estoppel). Again, more facts, especially re timings may be required.

Reply to the comment left by Freda Blogs at 07/12/2020 - 14:55
Thanks Freda.

Its a bit of an awkward one as I only purchased the bottom flat with the conversatory last year and it was put up in 2014 by the previous owner so it has been up over 6 years now. I dont know if permissions were sought at the time but again if the freeholder moved in 2013 and didnt update the leasehold title, i am not sure what the old owner could have done to reach him for permission. I have recently discovered that the freeholder turned up at the end of 2018 when the bottom flat was first put up for sale and raised the issue over the conversatory with the previous owner at the time. I believe he tried to buy the flat but for whatever reason it fell through, and I ended up buying it at the end of last year. So the FH has known about the conversatory for at least 2 years now so I am not sure if this estoppal will be valid in my case as he threatened legal action with the previous owner, tried to buy the flat and now taking legal action against me as the new owner. Its a bit of a complicated one!

What legal action is he taking? Is he applying for an injunction to prevent letting? This will affect the other landlord so recruit him or her if you can
Is he asking for the conservatory to be removed? Is he trying to claim a fee for consent?
What does it say in the lease on these matters?
Why was none of this raised when you bought either property, the first being 2011, where was the freeholder then and who did the seller packs? Your solicitor should have gone through the lease and told you about any points that might be of concern, particularly about sub-letting as I presume they knew that was your intention?.
From what you have said so far I am not sure why solicitors have been engaged at this stage but if you could answer the above it might make more sense.

Reply to the comment left by Puzzler at 14/12/2020 - 10:53
Hello Puzzler,

Thanks for the message. I received a letter from his appointed solicitor asking for me to either buy the land the conservatory sits on, rent the land or take it down. It said he would prefer to settle rather than go to court. I appointed a solicitor to respond as I dont want to take any of these options really. The conservatory has been up 6 years and the freeholder has been aware of it at least 2 years but never taken action against the previous owner. I have only owned the bottom flat just over 12 months. The lease does say permission should be granted to erect a conservatory but the freeholder has been absent for several years and also moved address from what I understand so not sure how consent could have ever been granted. On the subletting, I purchased the property with a tenant already in there and most of the flats on the estates are rented although the lease does say the flats are only to be resided in by the owner or there family. As mentioned freeholder has been absent for 10 plus years so never envisaged any issues with this. He has not asked for an injunction at this point, merely just saying the flats shouldn't be rented. The freeholder is more concerned with the conservatory at the moment and has only touched briefly on the renting side in the 2 solicitor letters so far...

This all sounds a bit fishy to me. The one important thing you don't know is what his ulterior motive is. After 10 years of not giving a monkeys he suddenly appears and becomes the big I am. I wonder what's going on, he can't suddenly be interested. What's changed, or what change is he planning? I think you are doing the right thing. Keep it with your solicitor. It sounds like a trap is being laid that is designed to somehow benefit this fella. The good thing is, that the no evictions rule will work in favour of the residents for now, but it won't be there forever. Just don't let the law firms drag their feet.

Hi Matt
Can you describe the property please? how many flats are there? does the conservatory sit on what should be a communal area or in the area assigned to your flat? Assume the first since he is offering to sell it but could you confirm?
All these things should have been made known to you when you bought, by your solicitor as clearly you might not have gone ahead.

Reply to the comment left by Puzzler at 18/12/2020 - 08:41
Hello Puzzler,

Thanks again for the reply. Its a building with 6 flats split into 3 bottom floor and 3 top floor. They are all separate with separate entrances, stairways and gardens. Only communal area is at the back of the flats. The conservatory apparently sits on land that belongs to the freeholder and is not included in the leasehold agreement. Its only a small lean to conservatory (about 11ft by 5ft). I was not aware of this and my solicitor has said he wasn't either at time of sale. When I purchased the flat, I was made aware the conservatory had been erected without the freeholder's permission as he was an absent freeholder. The previous owner told me this himself who said the freeholder had turned up unannounced one day in 2018 when he put the flat on the market for sale (similar to my current situation) to inform the previous owner it had been put up (the conservatory) without his permission and he threatened legal action at the time with the previous owner. As a result, I got an insurance policy set up by the seller's solicitor. It was a breach of covenant insurance to cover me in the event that the freeholder turned up again one day (as he now has). I thought this protected me however it turns out the seller's solicitor didn't do their homework as the policy is useless as the conservatory sits on land that the freeholder owns and is not included in the leasehold agreement! As a result, the claims firm declined my claim on the policy much to my surprise and disappointment. So in answer to your question, I was aware at the time of sale the conservatory had been put up in 2014 without the freeholder's permission and he threatened legal action in 2018 against the previous owner but i thought the restrictive covenant insurance would protect me but it has not, hence I have had to instruct a solicitor. Thanks Matt.