Thread: Leasehold Buildings Insurance - Premium is double that of next door neighbour?!

I own a maisonette leasehold which is in a block of 4 and have to pay my Buildings Insurance to a property management company. I received the renewal notice a couple of months ago and the premium has gone up from £235.34 to £272.13. I then found out my next door neighbour (and other properties covered on the policy) have only been asked to pay a premium of £142; our properties are virtually identical in size, grounds etc. and have had the same number of claims. Something else that is strange is that my upstairs next door neighbour has been asked for a premium similar to mine yet she has a smaller garden and in 12 years has never made a claim.
I wrote to the property management company & asked why the premium was so high and why my premium was double that of my next door neighbour. They wrote back saying they had enclosed a summary of the policy but it was only a “Key Facts” Product Summary and gave me no details about the sums insured or the total premium etc and they said the reason my premium is higher than my neighbours is because the premium is split between each flat according to percentages which are fixed in the lease.
I’ve checked the lease and I can only find a clause that says the Lessee has to pay the Lessor for insuring the building but it doesn’t say anything about a percentage.
I wrote back asking for the specific clause they were referring to and asked why I have had to pay double for the last 2 years and expressed my concerns that the premium had shot up and compared to the £142 my neighbour is paying £272 seemed excessive.
They wrote back ignoring everything to do with why I am paying double and told me if I could find a cheaper quote they would look at it.
I wrote back asking my questions again and explained that I do not have the necessary information on all 30 properties covered by their policy to obtain a comparison quote. They replied that I should contact the managing agent for the details but there is no managing agent!

As I would need to know previous claims, day/night occupation of each property etc. isn’t this information covered by the Data Protection Act or something? I don’t want the owners of the other 29 properties knowing when my property is generally empty!

The policy has been with AXA for the last 2 years and has been renewed with them again. I know there aren’t that many insurers who do these kinds of block policies but as the agent appointed by the Landlord isn’t it their job to obtain comparative quotes not mine?

The payment was due on the 29th September and on Wednesday I received a final demand dated 13th October telling me my account would automatically be passed to their legal department if payment was not received within 7 days.

So my questions are:
Can I challenge how much they are asking me to pay based on the fact that they are asking others for less? My receipt for last years payment states there is no specific sum attributable to any individual property so how come the premiums differ from property to property?

If I am right to be challenging them:
Should I continue to pay nothing until they give me a good enough reason & what would be a good enough reason?
Or
Should I pay what they have asked my neighbour to pay and dispute the difference?

And is there anything I can do about how much I’ve had to pay for the last 2 years?
Last year I paid a premium of £235.34 whilst my neighbour only had to pay £112.02.
The year before I paid £225.20 verses £106.74.

Is there anything specific I should be saying in my letters? i.e. “as per the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 blah, blah, blah.”


In case it’s relevant, we pay Ground Rent to 1 property Management Company and the Buildings Insurance to another. There is no annual service or maintenance charge payable. I have no details for the Landlord other than their name, everything states “service of notice” is to go to 1 of the property management companies. Both companies have built up a reputation among the leaseholders of being difficult to deal with, they aren’t forth coming with information, ignore letters and don’t want to get involved with anything; basically they want us to pay up however much they ask for, in full, on time and not bother them other than that.

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Can anyone help with this???

Is there anyone out there who can advise on Leasehold Buildings Insurance?

I have a 1 bed flat and my landlord is demanding £800 a year for Buildings Insurance and another £400 a year for Service charges but they have not set foot inside our part of the building in 4 years!

I can not afford anywhere near this so the managing agent has turned the debt over to Property debt collection Ltd who require payment within 7 days!

I won't go into too much detail until i know that there's someone here who can help but basically it's complicated by the fact that my flat is 1 of 4 flats above a bank, so i am getting stung for the higher commercial premium and even have to pay Terrorism Insurance!!

I have scoured the site and although i have found some very useful info, i can find anything that directly applies to my situation.

If there is someone who can help, i would be forever in your debt (perhaps not the best use of words) I'm at my wits end; I'm sure this can't be legal but i just can't find out why!

Gaylec, as you can see no-one answered my post but I called the Leasehold Advisory Service and they were really helpful!!

Telephone 020 7374 5380 Monday - Friday 9.30am - 3.30pm
email: info@lease-advice.org
Website: Welcome to the Leasehold Advisory Service

In my case the Landlord hasn't complied with the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 as they haven't provided a written summary or copy of the Buildings Insurance policy despite my written request and they haven't justified the amount they are charging and therefore it can be referred to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

I don't claim to really know anything about Buildings Insurance other than what I've found out from researching on the web but it does sound like your case is similar to mine in that you want the charges justified before paying any money out. £800 for the Buildings Insurance seems steep and you want to know what the service charge is for; what work has been carried out? what quotes were obtained before the work was carried out? was the work necessary? etc. etc.

My advice: speak to the Leasehold Advisory Service, send a few letters & don't pay over-the-odds till you get some answers!

Hi, I am in exactly the same position as yours BB78, I have been in contact with Leasehold advice and await a return call. Please can you tell me what your outcome was. AXA who are also providing my buildings insurance are not helpful at all and just want £250. With your problem, did all masionettes/flats have the same policy? I have found we are all under 1 policy but all paying various sums and none of us actually have the full terms of the insurance policy.

I would be really grateful if you could tell me your findings.

Many Thanks

Aston1

Sorry for late reply, been having computer troubles & only just seen your post.
My battle still goes on with my Freeholder & (non) Managing agent over the buildings insurance! You may have had your return call from Lease now but basically they told me I was entitled to challenge the amount I was being asked to pay if I believed it was wrong and that by law I was entitled to a copy of the policy document detailing the amount insured, premium etc.

Yes my buildings insurance is a block policy covering 37 properties, we too are all paying different amounts with no rhym or reason and are also insured through AXA (there aren't many companies that do block policies for leasehold properties.) Unfortunately you will find AXA won't be too forth coming unless you are lucky enough to get through to someone helpful & sympathetic but even then they can't tell you much because you aren't actually the policy holder; your agent or freeholder are & because they don't have anything to do with the split of the policy.

I threatened my agent & freeholder with action if I did not receive a reasonable explanation over the differing amounts being paid & if I did not receive a copy of the policy document. My lease states I have to pay to the agent an amount equal to the amount expended for buildings insurance and on last years receipt for my payment it stated that no property has a single sum attributable to it so when I finally received a copy of the policy summary I had all the details I needed to calculate my proportion of the premium. Basically the total premium (£7,000 ish) divided by the number of properties covered (37). I worked out my proportion should be £205 not £275 and I have been overcharged £50 in 2006 & again in 2007.
Lease advised on the payment that I could either pay the full amount & then try to get back what I thought I was owed; but agreed its harder to get back money you have already paid or I could pay the amount I had calculated & wait & see if they take action to try & get any more or I could withhold payment altogether & refer my case to LVT for a decision.
I decided not to pay anything incase making a payment is seen as an admission that the full amount is owed & because I want back the money I was overcharged aswell I could see it getting complicated.

I got a letter back at the beginning of November last year from the agent saying they would get back to me & until Monday last week I'd heard nothing! Then I received a demand for £528 from a debt collection agency threatening me with all kinds of action if I didn't pay up!
I phoned the debt collection agency & told them I had queried the amount with the freeholder & agent & the ball had been left in their court. At first they gave me a lecture about not paying & how I should have paid & claimed the difference back because I'm not currently insured (which can't be correct if its a block policy) but when I told them I had taken advice & had threatened to take my case to LVT they just asked me to send them copies of the letters sent & recieved & will contact me once they've received & gone through it all.
I've still got to get it all posted & am debating whether to send a payment of £205 minus the £100 I've been overcharged but I'm not willing to pay anymore than this & there is no way in hell I am paying any kind of late payment penalties, interest or fee's to the debt collection agency because my agent & freeholder can't be bothered to answer their leaseholders!

I don't know if this helps you at all in your case but IMO no one should pay more than they think they should just because they receive a demand unless its from a court!

Originally Posted by BB78

Sorry for late reply, been having computer troubles & only just seen your post.
My battle still goes on with my Freeholder & (non) Managing agent over the buildings insurance! You may have had your return call from Lease now but basically they told me I was entitled to challenge the amount I was being asked to pay if I believed it was wrong and that by law I was entitled to a copy of the policy document detailing the amount insured, premium etc.

Yes my buildings insurance is a block policy covering 37 properties, we too are all paying different amounts with no rhym or reason and are also insured through AXA (there aren't many companies that do block policies for leasehold properties.) Unfortunately you will find AXA won't be too forth coming unless you are lucky enough to get through to someone helpful & sympathetic but even then they can't tell you much because you aren't actually the policy holder; your agent or freeholder are & because they don't have anything to do with the split of the policy.

I threatened my agent & freeholder with action if I did not receive a reasonable explanation over the differing amounts being paid & if I did not receive a copy of the policy document. My lease states I have to pay to the agent an amount equal to the amount expended for buildings insurance and on last years receipt for my payment it stated that no property has a single sum attributable to it so when I finally received a copy of the policy summary I had all the details I needed to calculate my proportion of the premium. Basically the total premium (£7,000 ish) divided by the number of properties covered (37). I worked out my proportion should be £205 not £275 and I have been overcharged £50 in 2006 & again in 2007.
Lease advised on the payment that I could either pay the full amount & then try to get back what I thought I was owed; but agreed its harder to get back money you have already paid or I could pay the amount I had calculated & wait & see if they take action to try & get any more or I could withhold payment altogether & refer my case to LVT for a decision.
I decided not to pay anything incase making a payment is seen as an admission that the full amount is owed & because I want back the money I was overcharged aswell I could see it getting complicated.

I got a letter back at the beginning of November last year from the agent saying they would get back to me & until Monday last week I'd heard nothing! Then I received a demand for £528 from a debt collection agency threatening me with all kinds of action if I didn't pay up!
I phoned the debt collection agency & told them I had queried the amount with the freeholder & agent & the ball had been left in their court. At first they gave me a lecture about not paying & how I should have paid & claimed the difference back because I'm not currently insured (which can't be correct if its a block policy) but when I told them I had taken advice & had threatened to take my case to LVT they just asked me to send them copies of the letters sent & recieved & will contact me once they've received & gone through it all.
I've still got to get it all posted & am debating whether to send a payment of £205 minus the £100 I've been overcharged but I'm not willing to pay anymore than this & there is no way in hell I am paying any kind of late payment penalties, interest or fee's to the debt collection agency because my agent & freeholder can't be bothered to answer their leaseholders!

I don't know if this helps you at all in your case but IMO no one should pay more than they think they should just because they receive a demand unless its from a court!

Me too !

Ive just got copy of policy from my landlord...its gone up to 1250, of which ill be expected to pay 50% !..I found alternative quotes for as little as 400.

Anyway..DONT pay the DCA, at the end of the day they have zero powers and the dispute MUST always end up going to a LVT court and they will decide whats fair and reasonable..Im hoping that my landlord will hurry up and force me to go there as Im very confident that most of my service charges are made up of unreasonable and invalid costs !

Originally Posted by andydd

Me too !

Ive just got copy of policy from my landlord...its gone up to 1250, of which ill be expected to pay 50% !..I found alternative quotes for as little as 400.

Anyway..DONT pay the DCA, at the end of the day they have zero powers and the dispute MUST always end up going to a LVT court and they will decide whats fair and reasonable..Im hoping that my landlord will hurry up and force me to go there as Im very confident that most of my service charges are made up of unreasonable and invalid costs !

I replied to the DCA with copies of all correspondance on 17th March & haven't heard anything since! Yet another company that can't answer letters! Oh well! will all go in my favour if/when it ends up at LVT!
You can take your Landlord to LVT, it costs around £50 unless you are on benefits & you can claim your costs back if you win; might be better that you instigate the action rather than waiting for your Landlord then you are seen to be trying to resolve the issue & not refusing to pay. I would have done mine by now but ill health & problems have taken up my time and now I'm waiting to see what comes back from the DCA. I think its strange that the DCA & Landlord threatened legal action through the Magistrates rather than LVT, guess they think trying to scare people into paying is better.
Have a look again at the quotes you got, I got comparison quotes but then found out they weren't valid because they were for my property only and didn't cover communal area's which they need to because I'm in a ground floor maisonette. I was told there are only something like 7 insurer's who offer the right sort of cover & you need details of all the properties to be covered (i.e. value, claims history, occupency etc) to be able to get a quote. Still £1250 is taking the ****!