“Many thanks to those who are wishing me luck. I hope I can take it as far as possible. I am in total agreement with beejay too. I have lived in and around those flats for 15 years and would love to see them as a model of social housing. Is it £125 million they have to spend or £12.5 million? Either way it's a huge sum of money and we have one senior NLH employee saying it's necessary to spend it because nothing has been done for 25 years and another saying it's being done for future generations of tenants but when the music stops I'm in the chair picking up the tab for past present and future. Well managed schemes like this have a so-called 'sinking fund' that leaseholds chip into every year to cover these kinds of expenses but not NLH.

Normally the annual service charge for maintaining these flats is £300 per leaseholder, this year I'm being charged that plus an estimated £10,503 which could in reality be much higher.

There are pages of stuff that they are twisting round and doing wrong. Without wanting to be a bore, here's a quick summary.

1) When I objected I wasn't consulted NLH said I was in breach for my lease for not telling them of times when I was away from the flat. But I can't find where it says I should do that and no one has told me.
2) When they first visited my business and served the landlady with notice with notice that they would force into my flat, the dates they said they would do it weren't legal under the very clause they cited to me as giving them permission.
As I mentioned before, they are breaking in while I'm at work to take out my privately paid for double glazing which is almost identical to the units they are putting in. This is being done for thermal efficiency and not just so they are all matching - but no one can tell me the thermal efficiency of my existing double glazing!
3) Both times when they visited my business I was on 12 hour days in my main job. But the second time the senior NLH employee cynically asked "Where is he, at work again?" as if I was doing it to spite them rather than to pay the mortgage and my bills. When getting back in her car I neighbour overheard her say "That sorted them".
4) In this article I mentioned that as my 5 neighbours paid rent, NLH cover the cost of their works and that I was the only leaseholder that I was the only one actually paying a bill; a claim which NLH denied. Maybe the land registry has omitted to record the details of the other lease(s) issued or maybe they just want to turn things round again so it's my fault?

If you got this far, thanks for reading! Phil.”

“You are caught between the rock & the hard place. How sad. I would want to see the area being improved, but surely they cant force you to pay. I would get onto a solicitor. Good luck.”

“Phil
I hope you have kept your quote and the surveyor's report, they could be useful if legal action is taken against you. From what you say I think it is pretty certain that the consultation procedure required by law has not been followed and you should have good grounds to stand fast and see how far NHLA are prepared to go. Bullying tactics are not looked on as the way social housing landlords, or any others come to that, should behave.”

“I raised a smile at the comments of "Sell It Back Wothout Any Profit, You Understand Your Contract" who is sticking up for NLH.

Interestingly they comment that I should sell it back at cost if I get the chance and not market value. Strangely the Telegraph's article doesn't mention the fact that I asked NLH fair market value for the flat.

Maybe it was just a lucky guess on their part or maybe they an insight into the emails I sent to NLH? What do I know? In their opinion I'm unfit to be a home owner.”

“David v Goliath.
The big corporate bully boys against the little man.
Best of luck mate.”

“As Mycroft says, I own the flat on a leasehold basis. Big chunks of this cost include replacing the roof (estimated in 2007 as £29,000 for work) when at the time I had a quote for £7000 for doing the same job - and at that time an independent chartered surveyor had just passed my roof as satisfactory. Now on Wednesday 4th August they are threatening to force entry to my property to take out my double glazed windows and replace them with NLH branded double glazing.

Geoff is right about the section 20 notices which they just posted out, in my case to an empty flat, and claimed this was fully consulting with me. Oh, and they were worded that not responding would be taken as a thumbs up to being hit with a £10k bill. I have sent all the details to the government funded leasehold advisory service. I'm not saying NLH are admitting they didn't do enough to consult me in the first place but the head of special projects is now hand delivering their threats of forced entry and bringing along a second employee to witness it. Classic.

Far from cashing in on cheap ex-council stock - the property has been sold numerous times since the lease was issued. I paid about 10% less than you would have done for any freehold 2 bedroomed flat at the time because of the area was a bit run down. As the special projects manager told me, I'm having to pay so much because little has been done to the flats for over 20 years.

No doubt a tribunal or court will get to the bottom of who's right and who's wrong but I don't appreciate all the threats and false accusations along the way.”

“Ian Bridge is head of tenancy support!
With friends like that...! He says "..meeting their share..." Is the leaseholder only meeting his share? Perhaps he might like to confirm here that he has followed the consultation procedure faithfully in accordance with the Act?”

“Phil -I am not a lawyer but I can point out that 'where a landlord proposes to carry out work...that would cost over £250 to each individual payer, he must formally consult all those expected to contribute to the cost( Section20 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985.) A long procedure has then to be got through. If that is not done, ' ...the landlord will not be able to recover charges more than £100. Were you consulted? I cannot imagine any case could be made for you to pay more than a share of the cost anyway. Get advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, they can arrange for a solicitor to help you.”

“People like this just grabbed the chance to buy up the council house/flat at rock bottom prices but did not obtain advise on what their obligations were under the contracts of the lease mainly applying to flats. If he can't keep up to what he agreed then if given the chance to sell it back to NLH he should jump at the chance and go back to renting as these people are not suitable for home ownership, the buy back should be on a none profit basis, you only get back what you paid for it not market value as you have lived in it during that time with no rent paid. There are many home owners on private housing estates just as bad as they buy but don't understand their title deeds .”

“He obviously owns his flat on a Leasehold basis, you ignoramus.”