RMC and Property Litigation

The “Lease” is effectively the contract between the Landlord, the RMC and the leaseholder; their entire relationship is governed by the contents of the lease.  RMC’s typically manage the common parts of the building and any amenity areas and therefore RMC Directors must be aware of the provisions of the lease and must ensure that they understand their obligations contained within it.

It would be careless to assume that if you have read one lease you have read them all.  Whilst they may look the same the details of all leases are different. 

A lessee only has an obligation to pay what is stipulated in the lease which may mean the Landlord or RMC could find its suffering financial loss if the lease does not provide for certain items of expenditure it is incurring. In the same way the Landlord or RMC only has a duty to fulfil its obligations as stated in the lease. It is therefore essential that the lease of a property is read and understood. 

Leases often contain a provision that allows the Landlord / RMC to bring the lease to an end if the lessee defaults on any obligation under the lease, including a covenant to pay services charges, rent or other breach of lease terms such a noise disturbance/annoyance. 

This provision is known as “forfeiture” and our specialist Residential Landlord and Tenant Team can assist your RMC in dealing with a wide range of arrears of property litigation, including the recovery of possession of properties, forfeiture, service charge disputes and recovery of service charge and ground rent arrears, the appointment of manager applications as well as with all other Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (property court) and Lands Tribunal (the appellate property court to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal) proceedings.

If you are a RMC member or Director and wish to discuss your case or the services our specialised Landlord and Tenant Team can offer, please contact:

Shaun Jardine Partner Tel: (01295) 661 413 Email: shaunjardine@brethertons.co.uk