LPA Receiver Advice

[MikeyM]

Morning All,

 

A few days ago i received a letter from a company claiming to be the LPA receivers of a property i am currently renting. They enclosed a deed of appointment from August last year and instructions not to pay my landlord but instead make rent payments to them directly as well as sending them a copy of my tenancy agreement.

 

I've had no instruction from my landlord whatsoever.

 

Any advice on how i can validate their claim or how to correspond with them in general, all seems very dubious to me.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Ganymede]

Morning All,

 

A few days ago i received a letter from a company claiming to be the LPA receivers of a property i am currently renting. They enclosed a deed of appointment from August last year and instructions not to pay my landlord but instead make rent payments to them directly as well as sending them a copy of my tenancy agreement.

 

I've had no instruction from my landlord whatsoever.

 

Any advice on how i can validate their claim or how to correspond with them in general, all seems very dubious to me.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

 

 

Call your landlord.

[mjt2013]

But don't believe what they tell you necessarily, most landlords in trouble will tell tenants to keep on paying them. They won't pass that money on and then the tenant ends up in a financial difficulty because the rent hasn't been paid.

[MikeyM]

have tried this but no answer. How long can i legally be allowed to withold payment until this is sorted?

[keates]

Who are the receivers? What enquiries have you made? I certainly wouldn't advise you to just stop paying your rent as you will finish up being evicted. Have you checked with your landlord?

[MikeyM]

They are called 'Waterfold',

 

any calls to their office go straight to voicemail

however they have responded to email.

 

They have just claimed that they are managing the property on behalf of lenders (Blemain Finance)

and we should pay them from now on.

 

They claim to have agreement to this from the landlord.

Our calls to the landlord as yet have been unanswered.

 

Don't get me wrong i am not deliberately wanting to withold rent unnecessarily

but i wholeheartedly expect something legally binding with a court reference

on in order for me to change my landlord and subsequent payments.

 

The document i have received in all honesty couldve been drafted by a 12 year old child.

 

I really do not want to be caught up in my landlords financial affairs

nor do i want one of these parties knocking on my door for money if i pay the other one.

[keates]

You will not get anything that appears 'legally binding'

- a bank or building society does not have to go to court or go through a solicitor even,

to appoint a Law of Property Act Receiver.

 

I only know this because I am a landlord on the other side of this

and I had LPA Receivers appointed over my properties.

 

I can't find any LPA Receivers called 'Walterfold' but that isn't to say they don't exist.

 

LPA Receivers act in their own names so are there any names on the letter

or say a signature for the LPA Receiver?

 

Have you tried to contact Blemain Finance?

 

I am a bit confused by them telling you they were appointed in August last year,

have they only just written to you?

 

Who have you been paying your rent to since August?

[MikeyM]

Yep, thats what i mean,

we only moved in on November 2013 so what was going on from August onwards

and why was my landlord able to let me rent the property even after the charge was dated August 2013.

 

There is a signature on the Deed of appointment which says it is a duly authorised for Blemain and dated 22/8/13

The website for these muffins is www.waterfold.co.uk

[MikeyM]

Just to say since the start of my tenancy in Novemeber, rent has been paid direct to landlord

[keates]

I am not saying this has happened in your case

but some landlords ignore LPA Receivers and carry on collecting rent

and managing their properties but they are not meant to do this and

 

I am surprised you have only just heard from the receivers.

 

I assume the tenancy agreement is signed by your landlord or his agent?

 

How have you been paying your rent?

 

Do you have records or receipts for your rent payments?

 

Do you know if your landlord has other properties?

 

The letter of appointment should be signed by the receivers also.

[MikeyM]

Thanks Keates, The deed of appointment only has 1 signature and it certainly isnt from the receivers.

 

I have records of all rent payments (straight Bank Transfer) and the tenancy agreement is signed by the landlord who i know definitely has at least 1 other property.

[keates]

It's good that you have a record of your rent payments! I can't get on to the Waterfold website which is a bit odd. The deed of appointment as I understand it, should be signed by the mortgagee (bank) and LPA Receivers (there are usually two individuals). Have you contacted Blemain Finance?

[MikeyM]

well, we have just come off the phone with our landlord who has confirmed the receivers claim and advised to make further payments to Waterfold temporarily which i am happy to oblige.

Doesnt explain why they have only just chosen to make contact nor does it fill me with any confidence that our original tenancy agreement is worth the paper it is written on but i guess time will tell.

[keates]

I am pleased you have managed to speak to your landlord and confirm things are in order from your point of view.

 

I would have liked to have been able to contact your landlord

as I think he might need help and I know what it's like to have LPA Receivers appointed.

 

Maybe you could suggest he makes contact through this site if he feels he wants to?

 

And I would just add,

 

AND THIS IS ONLY MY OBSERVATIONS AND NOT ADVICE,

 

my experience is that once properties are in LPA Receivership the eventual outcome for tenants is not always ideal.

 

For one thing you now have a 'landlord' (the LPA Receiver)

who you know nothing about and who you have already said are difficult to contact and secondly

, an LPA Receivers job is to eventually dispose of the property to repay the bank.

 

This is sometimes done with the tenants in place and sometimes with vacant possession.

 

You probably have a six or twelve month tenancy agreement but either way,

you can't be sure of what will happen and when and how the property will be sold.

 

LPA Receivers are unregulated and some are better than others!

[MikeyM]

thanks Keates, you have put into writing my worst fears although i aappreciate your comment regards some LPA Receivers being better than others. I am happy to co-operate regards paying my rent to them going forward but am mindful of what they have the power to do (i.e sell my home and give me little notice).

It also begs a question for me as to how i would go about having my bond returned given it was paid to the landlord?

[keates]

The receivers are bound by the terms of the tenancy agreement as you are and still have to give you the required notice. Did your landlord put your deposit into a deposit scheme do you know? He should have done and you should have been given details of the scheme.

[mjt2013]

I appreciate that this is now sorted out but for anyone reading this in a similar position I often suggest that you save your rent money in a separate bank account pending the clarification of who it has to be paid to, once you're sure a lump sum can then be paid to being you up to date and avoid a possession claim on the basis of rent arrears.

[keates]

I am not sure about this advice. If a tenant withholds the rent for two months an LPA Receiver is likely to serve a possession order. I agree the tenant needs to be sure he is paying an authorised person but a call to the LPA Receiver or landlord named on the tenancy agreement should confirm that. The tenant could also call the landlords bank that appointed the LPA Receivers, if not known, this can be found out by going on the Land Registry website to obtain an online copy of the title deed of the property which will show the bank or building society. This only costs a couple of pounds.

[SittingDuck]

I would go with Keates good advice.

 

I have been on a very steep learning curve lately and realise that the Treasury owned banks in particular

(UKAR (Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley) RBS etc) are taking landlords properties

and evicting tents via circumnavigating the court process and using LPA receivers.

 

In other words if you respond to the LPA receiver they do not need a Court order to evict you.

 

After reading many posts you can see that their business is not based on morals.

 

The key here is to stay united with your landlord and work together.

 

Ask your Landlord not the LPA receiver for a copy of the Bank/building society details and then pay direct into that account.

 

Chances are your landlord is being treated badly by the bank/building society

and they are attempting to vilify him/her and taking their property.

 

They are probably suffering too.

 

Your landlord may wish to renew your tenancy with you.

 

Talk with your landlord to understand the situation.

 

If you communicate with the LPA receiver and not the landlord they will eventually evict you.

 

Work with the landlord and the building society will have to

 

 

seek a possession order via you and your landlord through a Court. This will give your landlord a chance, your landlord will be grateful and you will have security. As Keates says direct your landlord here, Keates is very knowledgeable.

Edited March 13, 2014 by SittingDuck

[mjt2013]

Obviously my suggestion was that the money would be paid in a lump sum well before it got to court. The problem with 'working with your landlord' once receivers have been appointed is that nothing the landlord does post appointment binds them so he may offer you a new tenancy but it won't have any legal effect.

[keates]

Thank you but I am not sure I quite agree. Once LPA receivers are appointed they 'step into the landlords shoes' and act as the agent of the landlord but the landlord has absolutely no control over his properties or what the receivers do. The bank steps back once it has appointed the receiver and stays at arms length and cannot interfere with the receivership.

The tenant does not have the option to continue paying the landlord or choosing to pay the bank, the tenant has to pay the LPA receiver who is acting as agent for the landlord.

 

The receiver has to abide by the terms of the tenancy agreement and has to follow the process for eviction as laid down in the tenancy agreement and it is not correct to say the receiver can evict without going to court. The tenants rights remain the same as they did when dealing direct with the landlord and the tenants obligations also remain the same.

 

I am a landlord who had LPA receivers appointed over my properties nearly four years ago and I continue to fight for justice for landlords and to have the LPA receivers regulated. At present the banks are using a loophole in an antiquated law and the LPA receives are entirely unregulated and are operating under the radar of ALL authority.

 

I would be very pleased to hear from other landlords who have been the victims of LPA receivership even if, like me you have lost everything and have given up hope of any justice. A lot is being done to fight this, all is not lost but we need people to support the cause. Please make contact through this site so we can stand together. My MP raised this issue in Parliament a few weeks ago and the fight is gathering pace. I look forward to hearing from you!

Edited March 13, 2014 by keates
Typo errors

[keates]

I would very much welcome contact from anyone who has had or has BTL mortgages with Kent Reliance Building Society and has had LPA Receivers appointed

Edited March 13, 2014 by keates
Original edited

[honeybee13]

Sorry for the typos in my last reply but I hope it made sense

 

You can edit your posts, keates. In the grey strip at the bottom of your post, there is an Edit Post option. Click on that and you can alter what you said.

 

HB

[keates]

Thank you. I have replaced last post!

[suffering]

Waterfold is part of sterling property managment (also LPA receivers) both are part of Blemain group which is one of the dodgy'est loan companies arround, do not trust anything they say or do only contact them in writing do not use the phone they will deny everything. I feel sorry for your landlord getting roped in with this sham company. I have had dealings with waterfold they are not interested in your welfare only money. (i took them on and got them to back down) you are in a sticky situation but if you have a tenancy agreement and pay either them or the landlord they cannot evict you. But once you start paying them you are entering an agreement with them. I am on the landlords side he sounds like he does not know what to do and is burying his head in the sand. You only have untill the agreement runs out and they are likely to evict you. Just one more thing in LPA receivers try to act with speed through email and phone. Slow things down with letters sent by registerd post. They do not have the powers of official receivers but they pretend they do. They are unregulatedso think they can get away with anything but if you remind them that they are in fact regulated by the Law of Property Act itself, they are more likely to tow the line.