• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Home
  • What is LKP
  • Find everything …
  • Contact
Donate

Leasehold Knowledge Management Logo

Secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold reform

Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • What is LKP
  • Find everything …
  • Contact
  • Advice
  • News
    • Find everything …
    • About Peverel group
    • APPG
    • ARMA
    • Bellway
    • Benjamin Mire
    • Brixton Hill Court
    • Canary Riverside
    • Charter Quay
    • Chelsea Bridge Wharf
    • Cladding scandal
    • Competition and Markets Authority / OFT
    • Commonhold
    • Communities Select Committee
    • Conveyancing Association
    • Countrywide
    • MHCLG
    • E&J Capital Partners
    • Exit fees
    • FirstPort
    • Fleecehold
    • Forfeiture
    • FPRA
    • Gleeson Homes
    • Ground rent scandal
    • Hanover
    • House managers flat
    • House of Lords
    • Housing associations
    • Informal lease extension
    • Insurance
    • IRPM
    • JB Leitch
    • Jim Fitzpatrick MP
    • John Christodoulou
    • Justin Bates
    • Justin Madders MP
    • Law Commission
    • LEASE
    • Liam Spender
    • Local authority leasehold
    • London Assembly
    • Louie Burns
    • Martin Paine
    • McCarthy and Stone
    • Moskovitz / Gurvits
    • Mulberry Mews
    • National Leasehold Campaign
    • Oakland Court
    • Park Homes
    • Parliament
    • Persimmon
    • Peverel
    • Philip Rainey QC
    • Plantation Wharf
    • Press
    • Property tribunal
    • Prostitutes
    • Quadrangle House
    • Redrow
    • Retirement
    • Richard Davidoff
    • RICS
    • Right To Manage Federation
    • Roger Southam
    • Rooftop development
    • RTM
    • Sean Powell
    • SFO
    • Shared ownership
    • Sinclair Gardens Investments
    • Sir Ed Davey
    • Sir Peter Bottomley
    • St George’s Wharf
    • Subletting
    • Taylor Wimpey
    • Tchenguiz
    • Warwick Estates
    • West India Quay
    • William Waldorf Astor
    • Windrush Court
  • Parliament
  • Accreditation
  • [Custom]
Menu
  • Advice
  • News
      • Find everything …
      • About Peverel group
      • APPG
      • ARMA
      • Bellway
      • Benjamin Mire
      • Brixton Hill Court
      • Canary Riverside
      • Charter Quay
      • Chelsea Bridge Wharf
      • Cladding scandal
      • Competition and Markets Authority / OFT
      • Commonhold
      • Communities Select Committee
      • Conveyancing Association
      • Countrywide
      • MHCLG
      • E&J Capital Partners
      • Exit fees
      • FirstPort
      • Fleecehold
      • Forfeiture
      • FPRA
      • Gleeson Homes
      • Ground rent scandal
      • Hanover
      • House managers flat
      • House of Lords
      • Housing associations
      • Informal lease extension
      • Insurance
      • IRPM
      • JB Leitch
      • Jim Fitzpatrick MP
      • John Christodoulou
      • Justin Bates
      • Justin Madders MP
      • Law Commission
      • LEASE
      • Liam Spender
      • Local authority leasehold
      • London Assembly
      • Louie Burns
      • Martin Paine
      • McCarthy and Stone
      • Moskovitz / Gurvits
      • Mulberry Mews
      • National Leasehold Campaign
      • Oakland Court
      • Park Homes
      • Parliament
      • Persimmon
      • Peverel
      • Philip Rainey QC
      • Plantation Wharf
      • Press
      • Property tribunal
      • Prostitutes
      • Quadrangle House
      • Redrow
      • Retirement
      • Richard Davidoff
      • RICS
      • Right To Manage Federation
      • Roger Southam
      • Rooftop development
      • RTM
      • Sean Powell
      • SFO
      • Shared ownership
      • Sinclair Gardens Investments
      • Sir Ed Davey
      • Sir Peter Bottomley
      • St George’s Wharf
      • Subletting
      • Taylor Wimpey
      • Tchenguiz
      • Warwick Estates
      • West India Quay
      • William Waldorf Astor
      • Windrush Court
  • Parliament
  • Accreditation
You are here: Home / News / Local authority is charging £20 and £75 subletting fees (pay up and count yourself lucky, says Leasehold Knowledge Partnership)

Local authority is charging £20 and £75 subletting fees (pay up and count yourself lucky, says Leasehold Knowledge Partnership)

October 8, 2013 //  by Sebastian O'Kelly

Q&AredonblueQ&A from reader

Please add views as comments

When Haringey switched to an arms-length management organisation (Homes for Haringey) I figured it might improve the management of my two rented leasehold properties. But sadly all it meant was a £300+pa management fee slapped on top.

In recent months their high service charges etc have irritated me more and more (two windows and a roof contribution recently cost £10k, another is likely to be £40k next year). Challenging those I expect would be hard, but I’ve been inspired by your coverage re sublet fees to look at this.

Haringey ask me to pay either an annual sublet license fee, or a fee each time the tenant changes (scheme summary from their web site is below). Sadly the leases on both properties do appear to require payment of sublet fees, described on my two property leases as “not less than £20.00 for each registration” and “£50.00 for each such registration or such larger sum as the Corporation may reasonably require”. I’ve paid everything they asked for. The clauses are in full below.

If I were to take this to the first tier tribunal, can I expect the process to be fairly straightforward as I’m simply asking them to judge what the sublet fee should be? I’ve no sense of what my time and money commitment would be, but I do think it’s important these councils are stopped from bullying leaseholders. When asked to justify these fees they just tell me “that is the fee, you have to pay it”! £75 is a lot of money to scan a copy of an AST and put tenant details in a database, it looks like blatant profiteering, though not as bad as some freeholders.

Homes for Haringey Subletting charges 

Following consultation with the Leasehold Panel, Haringey Council has approved the following charges to be levied for leaseholders who sublet their properties.

Two options 

Leaseholders who sublet their properties have two options for paying their charges which are described below. You must choose one of these options and state your choice on the registration form.

1. Annual charge of £20 

This is included in the Annual Estimate. This will be the best option if your  tenants change fairly often. If you notify the Home Ownership Team after the estimate has been raised, we will include the charge in your Actual Service Charge which will be issued in the following year. Therefore you will not be required to make a separate payment.

2. Registration fee of £75 

This charge will be appropriate for you if your tenants only change occasionally. You must complete a new form and pay the charge of £75. Reason for charges The landlord has legal responsibility for the building and has obligations to all residents who live there. If there is a problem inside a leasehold property the leaseholder should take the necessary action. However if he or she fails to do so, Homes for Haringey acting on behalf of the Council as the landlord must take the necessary action.

 

Leasehold Knowledge Partnership replies:

To be frank, these subletting fees are not onerous. 

I am not sure about challenging LAs on subletting. It has not come up, but if these figures are typical, I am not surprised. 

Dealng with a woman in Camden today who faced £250. Now the freeholder has been challenged I am told it is all a misunderstanding.

You are in a weak position as a leaseholder in a council owned block. The council’s primary task is to house the homeless, and they set the bills. Leaseholders have to pay their share,and can get hit with huge bills.

Argue over these – early, clearly, informedly – rather than winge about subletting fees that are not excessive.

 

Related posts:

Challenge to £100 leasehold subletting demand reveals nothing at all is owed Default ThumbnailBNP Paribas is charging £220 subletting fee – for very little Local authority leasehold on BBC’s You and Yours How local authority leasehold owners can fight back Default ThumbnailSimon Hughes aids local authority leasehold owners

Category: News, Q&As, Subletting

Latest Tweets

Tweets by @LKPleasehold

Mentions

Anthony Essien (34) APPG (37) ARMA (87) Bellway (30) Benjamin Mire (32) Cladding scandal (71) Clive Betts MP (31) CMA (45) Commonhold (52) Competition and Markets Authority (41) Countryside Properties plc (33) FirstPort (42) Grenfell cladding (56) Ground rents (54) Harry Scoffin (150) James Brokenshire MP (31) Jim Fitzpatrick (35) Jim Fitzpatrick MP (30) Justin Bates (40) Justin Madders MP (67) Katie Kendrick (37) Law Commission (60) LEASE (66) Leasehold Advisory Service (62) Leasehold houses (32) Long Harbour (48) Martin Boyd (80) McCarthy and Stone (39) National Leasehold Campaign (38) Persimmon (49) Peverel (61) Property tribunal (49) Redrow (30) Retirement (37) Robert Jenrick (33) Roger Southam (47) Sajid Javid (38) Sebastian O’Kelly (55) Sir Peter Bottomley (201) Taylor Wimpey (106) Tchenguiz (33) The Guardian (33) The Times (31) Vincent Tchenguiz (43) Waking watch contracts (40)
Previous Post: « Sacking of Mark Prisk is bad news for leasehold owners
Next Post: We have paid up for repairs to the lead water mains that doesn’t happen. We are so fed up, we are selling »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sue Stuckey

    November 3, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    With respect, Leasehold Knowledge Partnership seems to have missed the point. Wingeing doesn’t come into it nor does LKP’s own understanding of what is or is not ‘onerous’ hen calculating fees. In fact . LKP is falling into the same trap as many managing agents, of taking upon itself to define what is acceptable and what is not on the basis of what is believes is fair or reasonable or normal. Tut tut!

    Subletting fees are either allowed or not allowed by the lease – a contract between landlord and tenant which determines pretty much everything to do with the management of all leasehold property.

    LKP Admin, please note.

Above Footer

Advising leaseholders. Avoiding disasters.
Stopping forfeiture. Exposing abuses. Urging reform.

We depend on individuals for the majority of our funding.

Support Us and Donate

LKP Managing Agents

Become an LKP Managing Agent

Common Ground
Adam Church
Blocnet property management2

Stay in Touch

To achieve victory in the leasehold game where you are playing against professionals and with rules that they know all too well - stay informed with the LKP newsletter.
Sign Up for Newsletter

Professional Directory

The following advertisements are from firms that seek business from leaseholders.
Click on the logos for company profiles.

Footer

About LKP

  • What is LKP
  • Privacy and data

Categories

  • News
  • Cladding scandal
  • Commonhold
  • Law Commission
  • Fleecehold
  • Parliament
  • Press
  • APPG

Contact

Leasehold Knowledge Partnership
Open Data Institute
5th Floor
Kings Place
London N1 9AG

sok@leaseholdknowledge.com

Copyright © 2023 Leasehold Knowledge Partnership | All rights reserved
Leasehold Knowledge Partnership Limited (company number: 08999652) is a company limited by guarantee that is a registered charity (number: 1162584) with the Charities Commission.
LKP website is hosted at www.34sp.com
Website by Callia Web