Freehold co. blocking sale after service charge debacle and CCJ?

setting aside may be difficult as there are strict rules that apply (CPR). You would have to demonstrate why you are challenging a four year old CCJ, (prompt?). When were you first made aware?
Your purchasing lawyer should have usually had you sign a Deed of Covenant which would leave no doubt about who the current leaseholder was/is.
It is well known service charge is due so what reasonable enquiries were made by the leaseholder?
Good luck with what appears to be a lenghty argument.

Reply to the comment left by trevor white at 09/07/2018 - 12:20My argument was and is, should you had have read my entire post and comments. Between 2005-07 I lived there, from 2007 to 09 I had Royal Mail redirect my post, the agents and Freeholder had my name and details as the Deed of Transferred had been completed in my name in 2005.
By the time the RMA and/or the Freeholder ever contacted me 2013-14 I was living Overseas.
Since 2013 they have been unable to provide me with any correspondence and SC demands from 2005-2010. However from 2010-13 those they copies to me had my name on. BUT they had to conduct a Land Registry "Trace of Ownership" search in 2013. SSo how could they have been sending mail addressed to myself for three years when they did not know who owned the flat until 2013 ?

Approx how much time has elapsed between your awareness of the CCJ and your application to set aside?
I am dealing with your proposed legal action more than the facts.
Your best option would appear to be FTT and argue non compliance with LTA etc.
Having said that you should be aware of any COSTS recovery clause in your lease.
You should make sure you understand the ruling in Chaplair v Kumari .
It may be wise to negotiate yourself out of this mess.

Service charge arrears should have been sorted out by your own solicitor before completion. I take it you used a solicitor familiar with leasehold properties. Management company do not have to assign lease until mess is sorted out. Unfortunately many solicitors fail to inform management companies of transfers so they can only act on the info given.

I've put my BTL's on the market but as a non UK citizen, who has never sold a property in the UK before, I have found it quite perturbing to be consistently warned against unscrupulous conveyancing solicitors.
How does one find a reputable one who charges fairly and operates in the London/Greenwich area?
I'm loathe to use the company recommended by the sales agent for obvious reasons. I prefer an objective and personal company to represent me - especially because I live abroad.

Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 09/07/2018 - 18:48
Ask a landlord for local recommendation, you'll find them in the landlord specific social media groups or even on here see Mark Alexander (I hope you don't mind Mark). If you have leasehold properties ask the solicitor how many leasehold properties they have personally completed on. Always use a leasehold specialist when dealing with leasehold properties. I've seen too many mistakes made by solicitors with very little experience in leasehold law.

read the landlord & tenant act 1985 with ref to section 20B. it may help your cause

Am I missing something here? I’m no expert in leasehold so forgive me if I’m barking up the wrong tree, but it was my understanding that ground rent & services charges were not due until formally demanded in the prescribed form. In addition they are subject to being time barred if not demanded or court action commenced within 6 years of falling due. If this is the case then surely at least part of this debt would in fact be time barred, and the freeholder should be able to show evidence of some kind as to the bills being demanded, which according to the poster they’ve not been able to provide copies of. Would this not give some justification for an application to set the ccj aside and challenge the claim? The fact that the leaseholder lived in the property for years without being billed and then lived abroad, therefore giving justification for his not being aware of the court action would be exactly the type of situation envisaged that could give rise to a late application to set aside a judgement.
Of course that being said, everything justifiably due in the past 6 years at least (depending on when court action commenced) is still due once demanded in the correct manner, (& will have to be cleared before you can complete your sale), so if they are offering to settle for an amount equal to or less than that amount then I’d suggest taking the path of least resistance, it will facilitate your sale, although it may impact your credit rating for the next six years.

Yes that would mean a tribunal ruling which the OP doesn’t have time for as he is having his sale blocked. Landlords should give a UK address as point of contact so not being in the UK isn’t going to change anything.

Reply to the comment left by David Atkins at 09/07/2018 - 14:56
Thank you but once again please read the thread, in my previous comments/posts....all this was done, registered and paid in 2005.