Don’t let fees be swept under carpet
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THE lease sets out the rights and responsibilities of both the leaseholder and freeholder. Some leases ban satellite dishes while others ban subletting without consent.
Karen Jenkins, of law firm Druces LLP, says: ‘Pet owners should check a lease for any restrictions, for example.’
Leases often prohibit alterations to a property without the landlord’s consent – which the leaseholder will need to pay to obtain.
Most leases do not specify the fees, leaving freeholders free to charge what they want – sometimes thousands of pounds. These have upset many leaseholders who bought houses from developers and later are charged just to add a conservatory, remortgage, sell the property – even change the carpets. The fees may also be written into the deeds of a property as ‘covenants’.
These may remain in place when a property is sold or the freehold purchased, meaning homeowners could still be required to pay a developer for consent for various things even if they buy the freehold to their home.
Paula Higgins, chief executive of the Homeowners Alliance, says covenants seem to simply line the pockets of the developer. She says: ‘The common argument of protecting neighbours does not hold water in many cases. Why would you need permission to change carpets? It is just another way developers have figured out to fleece owners.’