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 Armstrong & Co Solicitors



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L and Q Invoice for £6900
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james wilcox


Posts: 30
Joined: Dec 2008
Post: #1
02-11-2014 05:55 PM

Hi all,

I live on Taymount Rise, and our flat was part of the L and Q stock transfer. We recently received an invoice from them for £6900. Not a nice surprise.

I now need to look through what L and Q committed to during the transfer process and see whether they have kept to their commitments.

I guess others have also received the same or similar request for payment from L and Q, and if so, I wondered if anyone had thoughts on it.

Best,

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ForestHillier


Posts: 490
Joined: Jul 2010
Post: #2
06-11-2014 02:03 PM

Hi James,

Not a nice surprise at all.

Do you know what the invoice is for ? Are you a leaseholder ?

From the dealings ive had with L&Q [ please see other posts regrading my mothers flat ] - i think they had not very good at all

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Thorners


Posts: 50
Joined: Oct 2013
Post: #3
06-11-2014 03:19 PM

Hi

We had the same. We were expecting it because we bought the property last year and it was part of the negotiations that the sellers pay it as the refurbishment works were carried out before we completed. All I know is that the major works cost was capped at £5k plus Vat and fees per property for 5 years from October 2010 to October 2015. In our building they went through the consultation process with leaseholders so everyone knew to expect the invoice at some point.

So far I've found L&Q to be pretty good to be honest but not had much dealings. Perhaps it's worth a face to face visit at their office on Dartmouth Road, you might get better information that way.

Good luck

This post was last modified: 06-11-2014 03:19 PM by Thorners.

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BringOutTheCranston


Posts: 81
Joined: Sep 2013
Post: #4
09-11-2014 07:26 PM

I don't get your problem. Work needs doing on/or has been done on a property that you own/ or have shared ownership in and you have to pay your share.

It's part of the responsibility of owning property. You maybe have less control as a leaseholder but as a freeholder I've had to spend my money on maintaining my property but that's the reality of proprty ownership.

Otherwise, rent.

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Cakefaced


Posts: 4
Joined: May 2013
Post: #5
10-11-2014 04:09 PM

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as when you are a freeholder. I have been a freeholder in the past, where you have control over the work that is done, when it is done, who carries it out and you are able to make design decisions. We have had terrible experiences with L&Q and, despite many months of bit piece, disruptive work and poor communication, we have ongoing issues that have not been rectified despite chasing. Further, we felt like we were project managing the project manager, despite having to pay a management fee on the works.

As a freeholder, I would have ended my contract with them and most likely not paid for the works that are below standard. I would have had other issues with the property addressed at the same time as these works. Also, I would not have let the property get into such a state in the first place.

Unfortunately, most flats are leasehold and it is not really possible to rule out purchasing properties because they are not freehold.

On a related point, I also find it shocking that L&Q have applied a blanket 'no' to requests for loft conversions, despite the shortage of affordable housing in London.

This post was last modified: 10-11-2014 04:11 PM by Cakefaced.

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Jane2


Posts: 221
Joined: Jan 2007
Post: #6
10-11-2014 09:33 PM

I agree with you about not letting properties get into such a bad state in the first place, as this costs more in the end. We had this issue with Lewisham Homes on a leasehold flat, the roof needed repairs and tiles replacing but despite our constant nagging the repairs were never done properly, the roof leaked and in the end the whole roof had to be redone. I think this could have been avoided if it had been maintained.
When we moved into a freehold property, one of the first things we got done was to get a reliable roofer round to replace loose tiles, fix gutters etc. This was instead of buying furniture or decorating, because we knew that in the long run this would save us money. Unfortunately as you say as leaseholders don't have this choice and end up paying for bad management.

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Scootagal


Posts: 36
Joined: Aug 2010
Post: #7
11-11-2014 03:45 AM

We recently sold our L&Q flat and knew about the possible works and the 5k cap. What we didn't know was when it was happening. It ended up being whilst we were selling and as part of the deal we agreed to pay up to 5k for the buyers. The external works have been completed but I have no idea whether they will have cost the full 5k or not. Do you have no idea what work has been done? We were in a house divided into two flats and yhey erected scaffolding, repaired some external stone work, painted a bit and repaired a bit of guttering from what I can see. Npw we have to wait for the invoice. ..but have no idea how long that will take and if we'll even get it or whether we'll just hear via our solicitors. It says it could be up to 18 months before they issue yhe invoice but the fact you have received yours as already is a good sign. Did you not have any idea major works were happening?

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jackrickman


Posts: 3
Joined: Feb 2017
Post: #8
09-03-2017 03:18 PM

The same to me!Sad

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Pico
No longer registered

Posts: 136
Joined: Nov 2010
Post: #9
11-03-2017 08:25 AM

When a leasehold flat is bought a standard question a solicitor must ask is 'are there any major works coming up?' If the company has issued a 'major works planned' letter to all occupants of the building that information should have been made available to a potential buyer. You must check if your solicitor asked that question and look for the letter in all the documentation your solicitor would have put together for you in your buyers pack. If the letter is missing then it's either the seller withholding information, your solicitor dropping a big ball or the housing company being useless? Do a bit of digging about and see what happened in that regard. If there is a major works letter in your buyers pack your solicitor should have advised you to negotiate down the price.

At any rate major works are part of shared building life. Any building will need work done over the years. Just try to figure out if there was a dropped ball in the purchase process.

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,412
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #10
11-03-2017 10:49 AM

Ask if a section 20 notice was served.

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