UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello
Can I ask advise please.. I have been sent threatening letters for last two years from Simarc Property Management who took over acting on behalf of the freeholder of one of our apartments.

They say they act for the freeholder. And say it is a requirement of the Lease that Notice of Underletting is served upon the landlord within a stated time after its commencement. And want a Fee of £120  to draw up a relevant Notice of Underletting each time we rent the property out...
Is this legally enforceable? Can anyone tell me what my rights are here? Really truly welcome some good advice as it just feels like a complete rip off to me. And if legally enforceable, surely after two years they would have done so?
Thanks awfully

jules

My property is also under the spell of Simarc. When I first rented my property out, I was asked to pay £120 to obtain permission to sublet. At the time (July 2011),I was unaware of the reputation Simarc had for their extortionate fees, and foolishly I paid it. And by the way, all you get for your £120 in terms of documentation.....is an invoice for £120!
Along came July 2012, and Simarc were sending me letters asking me to renew my permission to sublet and were wanting another £120. I eventually sent off their rather crude application form in November 2012, but without including any payment. Shorlty after I received a reply requesting a reduced payment of £72 (nice of them)as I still had the same tenants. I still haven't paid this and I haven't heard from Simarc since.

I have come across a few examples of other landlords taking Simarc through the LVT process, and while the tribunal can have an opinion on these kinds of fees, it seems they don't have any powers to enforce them. So maybe they can legally charge fees, it's a question of reasonableness which appears to be a huge grey area. It might be worth looking through your lease agreement to see if there's anything specific, but if it's anything like mine, it's just jiberish.

I'm also trying to sell my property and I'm a bit concerned that this outstanding payment is going to increase dramatically. In future I'm sticking to freehold!