Our annual ground rent demand usually arrives in November, but last year we didn’t receive the bill. The firm of solicitors that normally deals with it have told us to wait, but we are getting worried because we want to put the house up for sale soon. Should we send a cheque for the amount we owe?
As a result of a change in the law you are now no longer liable to pay ground rent unless you receive a demand for it in a prescribed form. The landlord cannot begin any legal action unless he has previously served the demand in the correct format, given the correct period of notice, and the leaseholder has failed to respond. You may have to make an allowance for the ground rent owing when you come to sell your house.