A specialist national property management company recently instructed Brady Solicitors to carry out lease reviews for 50 of their properties located throughout the UK. The client needed clarity on several complex formulas which included definitions used to calculate the ground rent for each of the properties. Consequently, it was clear that legal expertise was needed to assist them in understanding some of the finer details of the leases in question. This was a time-sensitive issue as the updated set of demands needed to out to leaseholders promptly.
The brief
As a client of Bradys for the last few years, the management company got in touch towards the end of 2022 looking to instruct us to carry out lease reviews for the properties. Ultimately, to ensure that they were charging the correct amount for ground rent as they were under pressure from their client for a swift and clear solution. Additionally, they needed to provide the leaseholders with accurate ground rent figures by the end of the year and thus requested that Bradys complete the project within a two week window.
Lease reviews
Having carried out the initial lease reviews, Bradys found that 10 properties in question also had Deeds of Variation in place, which impacted upon the management of the properties. Once familiar with all of the documentation Bradys produced various interactive documents which included all the relevant definitions and formulas for each property. Consequently, the property managers could use these documents to calculate the ground rent for all 50 properties quickly and easily for subsequent years.
Handover
Upon completion of the lease reviews and production of the ground rent calculator documents (which took into account the Deeds of Variation), the Bradys Litigation team setup a video call with the client. This call was used to talk through the major findings during each lease review and also to demonstrate how each calculation document should be used as it varied depending on the property.
The client commented:
“Having worked with Bradys for the last few years, we’re always been impressed with their leasehold knowledge and the speed at which they work. Due to this, whenever we have any legal queries, they’re always our first port of call, whether that’s in relation to service charge arrears, lease reviews, or any other leasehold matter. We’d highly recommend them.”
