High Insurance Premium.

[Princess1965]

Hi, I need some advice please before I call the Freeholders insurance company.

My Freehold has just been sold to Ground Rents (Regis) Limited. They have passed the collection of Insurance etc. to Pier Management who have since sent me an invoice for insurance and ground rent to be paid to them.

My questions are:

1. Do I have the right to query this invoice as it is £200 more than I have previously been paying.

2. Do I have the right to ask them for the original insurance quote to make sure that they are not bumping up the price.

3. Should they have provided me with 3 insurance quotes first.

I live in a conversion flat and there is only one other flat in the Freehold. The other Leaseholders are also going to phone the insurance company. My flat is only a one bedroom flat and I think that the insurance is very high. Also the previous Freeholder sent me a letter a month before quoting £125.00 for the insurance so how can it now be £365.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated so I know what I should be asking these people. I really feel that they are charging too much for a 1 bedroom flat.

Thanks princess1965

[jeffrey]

You + other flat's leaseholder should certainly look into a joint exercise of:
a. Right To Manage (RTM); or
b. Right To Enfranchise (RTE).
There are lots of threads about these- see LZ's LONG LEASEHOLD Forum.

[jeffrey]

Also, did you and other flat's leaseholder not receive a Notice under s.5 of LTA 1987 [Right of First Refusal] before the freehold reversion was sold to Ground Rents (Regis) Limited?

[leaseholdanswers]

You + other flat's leaseholder should certainly look into a joint exercise of:
a. Right To Manage (RTM); or
b. Right To Enfranchise (RTE).
There are lots of threads about these- see LZ's LONG LEASEHOLD Forum.

As well as appoint an independant manager. ( To be fair perhaps the new landlord has also revalued the sum insured, as it was underinsured -lol-).
As well as the posts also look at http://www.lease-advice.org/ and the advice guides.

[Gordon999]

Are you located in Southend-on-Sea ? Its where Regis and Regisport are based ?

Search for Regis and Regisport in www.rpts.gov.uk which has the records of past LVT judgements on overcharged insurance.

[Princess1965]

Yes we were offered the Freehold but the other Leaseholders did not want to buy it. I did offer to buy it myself and put an offer in but I never heard anything back from the Solicitors. Next I knew was that it had been sold. Should the Freeholders Solicitors have let me know it was being sold or that my offer was not accepted because I was able to negotiate the price. I think he sold it out of spite as i have had lots of problems with him including having the police involved.

[Princess1965]

No I am based in SW19 in London. They havent even seen the property and i think they have over insured it. They have put £10,000 on the communal entrance insurance when there is nothing but a 6ft x 3ft corridor and a light switch. Is this right?

[jeffrey]

Yes we were offered the Freehold but the other Leaseholders did not want to buy it. I did offer to buy it myself and put an offer in but I never heard anything back from the Solicitors. Next I knew was that it had been sold. Should the Freeholders Solicitors have let me know it was being sold or that my offer was not accepted because I was able to negotiate the price.
No. The Right of First Refusal is exercisable only collectively, not a sole leaseholder.

[leaseholdanswers]

No. The Right of First Refusal is exercisable only collectively, not a sole leaseholder.

And only if the collective nominated you as the sole purchaser.

If you want to control insurance look at Lease advice and the decisions on the basis of challenges as posted by fellow members earlier, or consider RTM and take control of your affairs.

£10000 is a bog standard sum, and would not on it's own be a basis for challenge, as reducing it has very little effect on a premium or cover. That may seem odd, but that is the way it is....

You can of course look at appointing a surveyor or a manangement audit which can look closer at these matters and consider an LVT challenge, however it might be best to look at RTM or an independant manager, especially if they have not revalued the sum insured for the building and simply insured it at the exisiting sum.

[Gordon999]

1. You have the right to make a written request ( by recorded delivery ) for a summary of building insurance cover and failure to received this within 30 days it becomes a criminal offence.
2. Once you know the insurance broker , you can write to the broker and ask for a declaration of the commission paid under to policy and the party in receipt . Then you have the evidence to apply to LVT for reduction ( or report a complaint to the National Fraud Authority ).
3. To get free advice to set up RTM , you can visit www.selcha.com