Hi all I am asking for help on behalf of my Auntie and Uncle They had a Mercedes on lease hire and was returned, at the end of the lease. They had the car valeted and any defects taken care of. Mercedes have now sent them an invoice for £800.00 because the last service was not carried out by one of there dealers. To me this is extortionate, is there anything that they can do, to fight this, I think it will end up in court! Thanks in advance Leakie

the lease hold on a property a friend ownes becomes renewable soon,and there is talk of the land owner changing certain aspects of the lease, if he decides to do that does he have to consult us about the new changes or can he just add them/change them and we have to lump it. this is a holiday park to which we have a chalet,and we are one of about 40 people who's lease becomes renewable at the same time. cheers in advance.

Hi All, I am about to start the process of extending the lease on my flat (currently at 73 years). I am not sure whether to go down ther formal or informal route yet. Is there a difference in cost? If the cost is the same I think the formal route would be best as I get a longer lease and peppercorn ground rent. I don't have the valuation to extend the lease yet but I have made an inital enquiry and the Freeholder/landlord has recoommended extending to 99 years with a £250 a year ground rent. Is £250 a reasonable and standard ground rent for a converted 1 bed flat in Brighton? I have heard conflicting opinions from local extate agents. Some say £150 is more accurate. Any advice on the formal or informal route costs and ground rent would be very welcome. The Lease advisory service were a bit vague. Thanks Jay

Hi this is my 1st post so please bear with me. I had a bad car accident a month ago with a foreign driver. My car has been written off and my insurance company have sent me the cheque. I thought as there was still money outstanding to Fortis lease that the car was on HP however the insurance co say there is no finance outstanding relating to the vehicle as they have checked. Recently received a statement from Fortis lease and it does say loan agreement etc and i cant find any paperwork that states it is HP. Sorry if im waffling. Fortis lease are expecting me to pay them everything that the insurance company have paid out. However I really do need to have a car. Can i keep the cheques, buy a car and make payments to reduce the loan? I dont want them threatening to take me to court etc. Im still very shook up from the accident and my nerves are in tatters. Does anyone have any experience of dealing with Fortis Lease at all. Thanks.

Dear forum reader, I am writing this on behalf of my Parents who need your help with a housing issue. My Parents who are in their late 60's have a commercial lease with a right to residential dwelling upstairs. They have lived in Shepherds Bush at this residence for 28 years and run the shop as a partnership for the same length of time. Since 2009 my father has been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease which has progressed to a stage now where he has become severely disabled and both myself and my mother are his full-time carers. The reason I need your help is that at the beginning of this year my parents decided to sell the lease, as my mother could no longer cope with everything, and my father could no longer function in this capacity obviously. Therefore, they found a buyer, agreed a price and went ahead with asking for the Landlord's consent. The property does require repairs and has a schedule of dilapidations is outstanding as my father could no longer comprehend or undertake this, the buyer has agreed to undertake work to comply with these. The Landlord is refusing consent for my parents to sell the lease. He is aware of my father's condition through solicitors but yet won't acknowledge this. The property is not disabled-accessible for my father, has no central heating or double glazing, and we cannot afford to put this all in place now, let alone my father be around while work is taking place. Our solicitor has explained to him that the prospective new tenants wish to refurbish the whole property anyway, so will deal with and oustanding dilapidations at the time they take over the lease, and they are prepared to put this in writing also. My father's condition is deteriorating all the time, and my mother cannot run a business and care for my father. Surely they are breaching a disability rights issue? If it were not for my father's disease they would not be asking for Landlord's consent to sell so surely the Landlord is discriminating against them? The way they are being treated seems totally unfair. They have blatantly refused our request to assign, so our only options now seems to be to try and assign without consent (which I think no one will agree to) or go to court to get a declaration that we can assign (which will probably cost alot of money I'm thinking!). There are only 2 years left on the lease. Am reaching the end of my tether with this, please help.

Ok, I hope you can help. This will be a long message I am sorry but i wanted to give you all the facts and hope that someone here can help me. We have a shop, 1400 sq ft, which is arts and crafts related. We have a 36 month lease from 31st March 2012. We are a Ltd Company but the rent is personally guaranteed by us as the landlord would not agree otherwise. We pay 40% of the buildings insurance on top of our rent to the landlord. We took occupation of the shop at the beginning of March to start work as the shop was in a terrible state of repair. The week before the lease began and we were to open, there was a huge leak upstairs which covered almost a quarter of the shop. The carpet wrinkled and buckled and the landlord, under serious duress eventually agreed to clean the carpet and staple it down. Really it should have been replaced but we agreed because we were up against it with time. I will list below so far what has happened in six months occupation: 1. The front of the shop has a flat roof and so far there have been 3 leaks. We have muslin on the ceiling and this has been damaged to the point it needs replacing. We are loathe to do this as after 6 months of asking, the landlord hasnt repaired it. We have had 3 builders round, and one even confirmed he had given a quote and was ready to go ahead with repairs. 2. in the middle of the shop a couple of months ago there was another leak. Due to the shower upstairs.... this damaged a whole paper stand of paper. The maintenance man couldnt believe it when we called him back a second time to say it was still happening..... he assured us that would be the last of it as he had repaired around the shower upstairs. 3. about 6 weeks ago there was a leak at the back of the shop .... due to the washing machine upstairs!!!!!...... we had water literally pouring out of the ceiling..... BUT simultaneously, the leak exactly where the shower was started again!!!... so we literally had 2 leaks, 10 feet apart, same time in different parts of the shop. Again paper damage. the maintenance man replaced the tiles and we have had nothing since (holds breath lol). 4. Last week we had a burglary at the shop. What we had no idea about was that ONE piece of glass was not laminated, just plate. THis is the window they smashed... They took a LOT. Huge amount. Damagingly so. We asked the landlord for help through the buildings policy and it was a flat no, apparently we are not covered for plate glass. Looking back, he must have known there was plate glass. We now need to claim on our contents insurance. Our insurance company have said they may want us to put in shutters...... 3-5K.... this would finish us off. Going back to the floor issue in the beginning.... over the past 3 months we have noticed black lines travelling along the carpet.... at least 20 ft in lenth and there are about 3 of them so far... they are getting worse. After arguments about the insurance claim, we again brought up the issues of the floor and the landlord sent round a builder who told us that he thinks its damp from the basement. He thinks the flooring needs to come up, but said it would be difficult as the carpet was glued down and that is why the landlord wouldnt replace it in the beginning when we had the leak. Underneath our shop in the basement there is a gym (or was many years ago, as the basement has been derelict for many many years). The builder said the roof has fallen away from the back section of the gym which is letting in a huge amount of damp into it. The whole basement is apparently green and the rear part of its ceiling is being held up by acro props. This is part of our floor!!!!! When we touch the floor you can physically feel the cold damp coming through. This is also a potential health a safety hazzard for us as tenants. We now are seriously needing to vacate due to all of the above but particularly the damp issues due to the nature of our business. Is there any way we can be release from our Lease. There is no break clause I know that. Any help would be immensely appreciated. So sorry for such a long post.

Hi Everyone, Im sorry if its long to explain but my sister could do with advice please. my sister took over the franchise on P.O. within a shop, at the time she was told by royal mail to have a letter to confirm the P.O. could trade for 5 yrs, her then landlord confirmed this in writing, she has been working there for last 8 yrs, however the landlord became ill and sadly died before a new lease could be made up, his wife said she would not do one at that time as she wasnt sure what she was going to do... Earlier this week a buyer for the shop has come forward, however he has said that my sis can remain in trade but he will up the rent to £600 a month, my sis declined this and compromised by offering to go £200 (business not viable to pay more). she works self employed basis and this buyer has told my sis that the bank and estate agents have said it has to be this figure, in meantime he has told owner of shop she cannot buy it as my sister will not agree his terms... Can anyone advise where my sister stands legally on this she is so stressed and getting abuse off the prospective buyer and owner of shop, she cannot afford to move the post office elsewhere. any help would be much appreciated?? where does she stand legally she has always paid her rent to the current owner of P.O. and new lease has never neen an issue till now. it seems the prospective owner is trying to bully my sis in giving up P.O. for nothing so trying tactic of upting the rent... ??

Looking for some advice om a commercial lease signed in personal names. Long winded, but here go's.... Signed a lease in joint names (business partner) for 5 years, for 2 units, with a break clause after 3 years. 2 1/2 years into this , we had to put company (ltd) into liquidation. At the time landlord stepped back and said he would not pursue for the remainder of lease (approx £140k), if we wanted to start again and remain in the building (using 1 unit). If things went well, then he wanted us to address the issue of the remaining unpaid liability of the lease. We made it quite clear that we would never be able to afford both units given the monthly cost , £4,700 , for a fresh out of the box business. We decided to start again, and after 3 months it was stated that if we were to remain in the building, then it should not cost the landlord for us to be there, and we were paying all associated costs for the area we were using. Our accountant thought we were mad , and suggested we vacate the property, and move to one whose costs were more in line with the size business we were running. We went against this advice, and remained, thinking this was the right thing to do. We did try to exercise our break clause, in an attempt to limit our liability, but as we were unable to pay the sum involved with this clause,therefore it was not accepted. On several occasions over the following 2 years, we were approached regarding payment of liability, but we were unable to due to the fact that the rent we were paying was too high for the business, so no extra profit was being generated for us to do this, but we did suggest that the fact that we had remained, and not left should count towards something, as the building would have remained empty, therefore no rent would have been earned. (There were no enquiries for our unit in those 2 years). This fell on deaf ears, and the terms of the lease were pushed under our noses. At the end of last year, our lease ran out, and the landlord was lucky enough to find a new tenant for our unit. We offered/were offered another previously un let part of the property for re location. Again, the accountant advised us to move, the landlords agent suggested that the longer we remained a tenant, the less the need for the full liability to be paid. We ignored the accountant (again!), and felt it was the right thing to do, given the liability. This time the landlord has refused a new lease, unless we pay increase rent. We stated that we cannot afford to pay any more, as the costs were still high for the business. He has now stated that if he can find anyone who will pay more, then if we can pay the new price we can remain, if not we need to move. Ho hum.... Then out of the blue, we have now received a letter from his solicitor demanding payment of over £80k, plus £6k interest, by way of £9k deposit within 14 days, with the rest payable over 3 years. It was also stated that interest was now being accrued at the rate of £8 per day. This is based on the feeling (not fact) the landlord has about our business, ie increased turnover. Any ideas where we stand? Can he force us out? What rights do we have/ It must be noted that since the formtion of the new business, the rent has always been paid on time, and we are not in arrears in that respect. Cheers

HI All After all the excellent advice received previously I may have mislead you all - it is not a HP Agreement but a Lease Purchase Agreement over 48 months. Have paid all below except final Outline as follows :- First £5225 + 47 X £461 + £5000 final rental payment . The car registration document is in my name not lease company (error at purchase stage by dealer - they have asked for it over years but ignored request) Query is will not be able to make final payment due tomorrow of £5000 but should be able to pay by end of September . How should I deal with very aggressive company always threatening repossession . Can they take it or do they need to go to court first / and how long does it take / Should I write to inform them I will pay end of September and offer late interest payment on top as compensation to them ? Thanks for helping

We bought a property in 2008 and pay around £13 ground rent to the council. At the time our solicitor said our property was on a 99 year leasehold with 8 years left; he could organise the buying of the 'freehold' I think but it was relatively easy and we could do it ourselves as he would charge. I rang the council who confirmed there were 8 years left and they just needed 8 x £13 plus admin charge to do it. What are the advantages of buying it and what happens if we do nothing? many thanks

My car is due to be returned to the lease company this friday, and I have an insurance claim in regarding the repair to the roof lining. The approved repairers gave a turnaround of 3 weeks, and I advised the insurance company I would search for another garage. The local main dealer for my vehicle (Ford Focus) advised me they had the part in stock, and they ordered it and booked my vehicle in for repair on the Monday (yesterday). The insurance company have approved the repairs to go ahead. So I took the car in and was about to hand the key over when I asked if the part was in, bearing in mind the job takes about 3 hours to do, and they then told me the distribution depot was on strike and they didnt have it in but the part had been picked and put on the lorry on Saturday night (10:01) and they would contact me when it did arrive. So this morning I find out the part has 'gone missing'. I have since found out the part never existed and it was a foul up in their computers and there isn't another one in the country! These are my choices: I keep it, the lease company charge me extra for keeping the vehicle beyond the end contract date (my employer ended the scheme for the majority of leased car users and as such will not contribute any further payments) and I simply cannot afford it. That way I can still get the repair done, however, I will be paying for 2 cars and only using 1 as I am in a contract with another company due to start in the next week or so. OR I send the car back and I get the wrath of their 'wear and tear extortion', despite the damage being repairable under the insurance.If they were to keep the car in their storage for a few weeks then it can be repaired no problem but they have said it is driven straight to auction. The insurance will not cover the lease company's value of the damage, and will only cover the repair, however the lease company WILL NOT repair it and will fine me for having the damage. Can someone advise me urgently please? Am I being right royally screwed over or is it just me? Where do I stand?Thank you.

Hi there, Last year, my flatmate's uncle decided to buy a five bed flat which he would let to his niece and her chosen flatmates for the duration of her university stay, with the intention that he would continue to let the flat after she had left to prospective students. We were to find the flat, given a budget for the mortgage and to liaise with him as a prospective landlord as to issues of price. The aim was to move in over the summer, however issues with the solicitor and with the HMO licence needed to rent to students meant that for a short period we were renting off the previous owner of the flat at a reduced rent that his previous tenants had paid, before the new landlord took over the property. This meant that the lease began on the 1st of September, which is quite unusual from our experience of student leases in the area. Whilst we were tenants at the property, several problems arose whereby the landlord had to be contacted directly. It was the landlord's express wish that most problems with the properly were to be dealt with directly to them, but would need the involvement of his niece, who was to take care of the flat. One instance was the bathroom leak into the flat below, causing the landlady of the flat downstairs to pay a short visit to the property and in no uncertain terms tell us if that if the leak was not fixed she would not leave the doorstep. A plumber was demanded, and due to her aggressive nature the matter was deal with by the tenants rather than the landlord, as the landlord was at work. The result of the situation was that expenses had to be paid for a plumber who dd not perform a satisfactory job, and the property had no water for a short while. Around this time, the boiler also broke. Both of these problems were fixed within three weeks, although the problem of drainage in the bath and toilet (the latter into the former) persisted a short while longer. During this time, it also became apparent that one of the bedrooms was experiencing a large problem of damp due to the problems of the building's room. After six months, this problem, although given attention, was not resolved and the room remained largely uninhabitable for the tenant. It is the opinion of the both visiting factor and of all tenants that should the landlord wish, he would not be able to rent the room to any other prospective tenant. In March this year, the landlord's niece informed us that she wished for someone else to move in from September, and that we were to move out. We have had extreme difficulty in finding a HMO flat at an irregular time, and have finally signed a lease for a flat whose lease begins on the 1st of August. Due to no fault of our own, and bearing in mind that we had no intention of leaving of our own accord, we are forced to pay double rent on both properties. The tenant whose room was affected by the damp is intending to use the cause of the lease which states that rent is payable on the condition that the landlord upholds his or her responsibility to keep the flat in a reasonable state of habitation. However, do the rest of us have a legal leg to stand on? A tenant won't be found to take over the lease for one month, yet the three of us are struggling to find jobs and are students with little income. Unless we can have an ace up our sleeve, we'll lose up to seven hundred quid paying for a flat that we aren't allowed to live in.

Hi, We had a vehicle on a 2 year contract hire between 2006-08, all sums due under this agreement were paid, save excess mileage, rectification etc. However at the end of the hire period we retained the car and called the company to request an extension quote. We heard nothing for six months and called back to be told we would receive a quote etc. At no time was the vehicle requested back or un-lawfully witheld. Just over a year later we received a letter requesting the vehicle to which we complied and it was picked up. We then received invoices for the full years rental at the original rates and have now received a Statutory Demand for the rental plus costs ? Advice ?

Hi there. This is my first posting. I wonder if anyone can help with the following situation. I'll be as brief as possible. When I was in business I was 'encouraged' to take on the lease of a machine by a company called Belle Sante by agreeing that they would give me £350 worth of products a month which would effectively cover the cost of the lease which was for £350 a month for 36 months. I had a letter to say the lease had been assigned to Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance on the 15th September 2008. In November 2009 I received a letter from Belle Sante to say they could no longer support the deal - I just have to accept that, but it was a blow. Around 23rd November I contacted the business debt line (I have the reference) and they sent me income and expenditure forms to complete - I completed these and sent them to Bank of Scotland along with an offer of £100 per month due to the economic situation and problems with my diminishing revenue. I had no response so sent them all over again. Still no response, so I stopped my direct debit as I didn't have the funds to pay them £350plus VAT each month. In March 2010 I made a decision to close my business. I found someone to take over the lease on the premises and she continues in the same name but it's no longer anything to do with me. In June 2010 I received a letter from ASP confidential saying they had been instructed to either sort out the arrears or collect the machine. I agreed to return the machine, which I did. I was advised that as I returned the machine and had paid around 14 months off of the 36 month lease, that would probably be the end of the matter(in her experience). In November 2010 I received a letter from Crystal Collections informing me that I owed £6,138.12 for the machine. On contacting them at the beginning of January 2011 I was told they were no longer dealing with the matter. A few weeks later I received a letter from Daniels Silverman Ltd to say that I now owe £11,489.34! I am in a position where I no longer have my business, my partner and I are receiving tax credits, I have no assets and very little money in rented accomodation. We are trying to start again. I have written a letter to the company stating all of this and possibly admitting to just the 7 or 8 payments that I missed up to the point when the machine was handed back. I made them an offer of £10 per month on this amount. They have replied wanting to know every detail about us in order to assess whether this offer can be accepted(though they don't acknowledge anything under £11,489.34 in the letter). They are also talking about taking me to court/bankrupting me/seizing goods etc etc. I am stressed and worried. Is there any course of action I can take or will I have to accept the scenario as it is? Many thanks.