Hi, Thank you very much for the advice, I will go through my lease as advised. I will also send them an email now reminding them of their obligations with regards to correspondence. Just in case there is a dispute, is there a charge for applying to an LVT? Regards, Abhinav

Hello, I am the owner of a 2 bedroom flat in Leicester. I stayed in the flat from 2005 to 2012 but had to move down to Kent in June 2012. I have allowed an estate agent to manage my flat since then. The flat was rented out initially for 6 months but now extended for a further 12 months until December 2013. I contacted Simarc limited, who collect the ground rent on behalf of Barratt Homes, to change my correspondence address. They wrote to me saying that I should have applied for a notice of underletting. They asked for an instant payment of 120 pounds and asked me to fill in a form with details of the current tenancy. I paid the money and filled in the form saying that the flat has been rented out for 18 months. The company has now encashed the check I sent them but have now sent an email asking for a copy of the tenancy agreement to ensure that the leasehold agreement is not being violated. This is quite a hassle for me because I do not manage the property and will have to contact the estate agent for a copy of the tenancy agreement and then post it to Simarc limited. I am also concerend that I will have to keep doing this and also keep paying them everytime there is a new tenant. Can you please advise if I have to comply with what they are asking. The flat was let out first for 6 months and then extended for a further 12 months. Does that mean that I have to pay them twice? I wanted to ask the company some questions so tried calling them, the phone does not connect at all. I have also sent three emails to the rental company and only received a standard response to the first one. Don't they have an obligation to reply to me when I have a query about my ground rent? Thank very much in advance Kind regards Abhinav