Excessive legal fees from Landord's solicitors?

[freya]

Hi there
I am nearly at the end of the process of extending my lease but have just received the bill from the landords solicitor which I am expected to pay.

When I started the process I was expecting the legal fees to be approx £1500+vat on my side (solicitor and valuation) and something similar (circa £1500+vat) from the landlords side.

I have however just received the landlords legal bill of £2,400+vat which I am absolutely flabbergasted at. Their valuation fee is £400+vat (which seams ok to me). They then claim to have spent over £700+vat (3.5hrs) reviewing and considering the Notice and investigating my right's to a new lease under S60(1)(a). They are then claiming a further £940+vat for work to prepare, amend and finalise the lease under S60(1)(c). There are other expenses for letters, faxes etc throughout the whole process adding up to approx £300.

My solicitor believes that their bill could be as much as £700 higher than what they would normally expect and has offered to challenge the bill but this would cost me approx £200. Should this fail we apparently have the option to make an LVT application.

Can anyone advise what I should do? Can I challenge the bill personally myself and therefore save on additional solicitors fees my end? Is it really worth going down the LVT route and incurring yet more costs? Basically where do I stand as I feel they have me by the short and curly's?

Thoughts and advice very much appreciated.

Many thanks

[jeffrey]

A lessee statutorily obliged to pay a lessor's legal fees cannot use the normal client/solicitor challenge mechanisms; but can use the LVT jurisdiction.
But the LVT cannot order one party to pay the other's LVT costs. Each pays its own. You would not save enough on L's fees to make it worthwhile.

[andydd]

Hi there
I am nearly at the end of the process of extending my lease but have just received the bill from the landords solicitor which I am expected to pay.

When I started the process I was expecting the legal fees to be approx £1500+vat on my side (solicitor and valuation) and something similar (circa £1500+vat) from the landlords side.

I have however just received the landlords legal bill of £2,400+vat which I am absolutely flabbergasted at. Their valuation fee is £400+vat (which seams ok to me). They then claim to have spent over £700+vat (3.5hrs) reviewing and considering the Notice and investigating my right's to a new lease under S60(1)(a). They are then claiming a further £940+vat for work to prepare, amend and finalise the lease under S60(1)(c). There are other expenses for letters, faxes etc throughout the whole process adding up to approx £300.

My solicitor believes that their bill could be as much as £700 higher than what they would normally expect and has offered to challenge the bill but this would cost me approx £200. Should this fail we apparently have the option to make an LVT application.

Can anyone advise what I should do? Can I challenge the bill personally myself and therefore save on additional solicitors fees my end? Is it really worth going down the LVT route and incurring yet more costs? Basically where do I stand as I feel they have me by the short and curly's?

Thoughts and advice very much appreciated.

Many thanks

Obviously the way to avoid LVT costs is not to hire a solicitor, there are also other avenues to get cheap/free legal advice such as CAB, Pro-bono lawyers, College of Law, BPP College, Legal Aid, Leasehold Advisory Service, etc. Its also possible to have LVT fees waived if you are on low pay, unemployed, etc

Andy

[Gordon999]

Perhaps you could make a complaint to the Law Society + Housing Minister + Which Report about excessive solicitor's charges for lease extension of statutory 90 years + pepercorn rent and

Ask them to produce a "standard form" to extend the lease of a leasehold flat which only requires the names of the parties and the starting date being added to the form and agreed with Land Registry.

[jeffrey]

Perhaps you could make a complaint to the Law Society + Housing Minister + Which Report about excessive solicitor's charges for lease extension of statutory 90 years + pepercorn rent and

Ask them to produce a "standard form" to extend the lease of a leasehold flat which only requires the names of the parties and the starting date being added to the form and agreed with Land Registry.
No, you cannot do either of those. The problem is a statutory one- the fact that each relevant Act (1967, 1987, 1993, 2002):
a. obliges the lessee (T) to pay the fees of the lessor (L) re solicitors and valuation; but
b. does not entitle T to the same right of challenge as L (the client) would have, other than in LVT proceedings.

Plus the Law Society is now effectively a Trade Union body; statutory regulation was transferred out to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.