Ground Rent Refunds: What Does this Mean? A recent investigation has revealed as many as 5,000
households in the UK will be entitled to refunds on their ground rent, with
some paying as much as double the set amount in accordance with legal
parameters. The process of doubling ground rent will now be halted and
refunding of those who have paid double will take place for anyone who has paid
out under these terms.
This month’s blog at Denfords Property Management
discusses ground rent refunds. For more information, call us in Southampton on 023 8038 6970 .
Time Frame Where applicable, you should receive a refund offer within
30 days, and many companies have already began contacting eligible
leaseholders. Ensuring your details with your leaseholder are up to date will
speed up and simplify this process to ensure a positive outcome.
If you have since left a property and feel you are one of
those entitled to a refund, your previous freeholder will be able to provide
the relative guidance. Upon acceptance of a refund offer, the funds will be
added to your account within 30 days by method of bank transfer. Please note
terms can vary in line with the procedures and payable service charges of
different companies.
Prevention of Ground Rental Inflation Provided you have owned your property for a period exceeding
two years, you may take out a statutory lease. This will extend the lease, but
simultaneously bring the ground rent fund down to zero, effectively removing
the cost all together.
However, this will require you to pay the freeholder, as
well as covering the legal fees of the lease extension, making the long-term
money save very much an investment as upfront costs will be incurred. The
amount owed to the freeholder can vary depending on factors such as current
property value, making prior knowledge of the situation necessary.
Problems Caused Thousands of leaseholders essentially bought homes with no
knowledge of the clauses regarding to the doubling of ground rent every 10
years. For example, an annual ground rent of £100 would see a staggering
increase of £1500 over a 40-year period. The already troubling situation has
been further exacerbated by the bulk selling of freeholds by developers.
Contact Us For more information, please contact our team in Southampton 023 8038 6970 . Alternatively,
you can make an enquiry through our contact form.
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