Fee Transparency
SERVICE CHARGE AND GROUND RENT RECOVERY
OUR CHARGES
We operate a fully transparent costs system with no hidden charges. We currently offer the following legal services:
- Landlord and tenant litigation
- Landlord and tenant debt collection
For costs information relating to our landlord and tenant work, please contact peter.cornell@lmp-law.com . In accordance with the SRA Price Transparency scheme, we provide the following information for any debt recovery work undertaken. The following information is an illustrative guide only, based on average fees, and you should contact us for a quotation relevant to your case. VAT will be chargeable in accordance with the current tax laws and the current rate is 20%.
DEBT COLLECTION
Our fees will typically range from £200 plus VAT upwards depending on the specifics of your case.
Our fees are charged on a “no win no fee” basis. We shall use our best endeavours to recoup the entirety of the outstanding amounts, including legal costs, from the defaulting leaseholder or their mortgagee (if any).
There will be times when we need to make payment of monies (known as “disbursements’) to third parties. The disbursements that we are most likely to pay in respect of your claims are either Land Registry fees or Court fees. Court fees are based on the value of your claim plus interest and are usually around 5% of the amount that is claiming. Land Registry fees for these debt matters are normally between £3 to £7.
Disbursements will usually attract VAT in addition. We will confirm the likely costs and any disbursements with you before we undertake the work
The key stages of your case are;
- Letter Before Action
- Correspondence with Mortgagee
- Issuing a Claim
- Applying for Judgment
- Service of S146 Notice and S121 Notice
- Service of Forfeiture Proceedings
If a matter becomes defended we will charge on an hourly rate, rather than at a fixed fee basis. Those charges are calculated with reference to the time spent on the matter including advising, attending on you and others, preparing Court document, correspondence, telephone calls, travelling and advocacy.
Our competitive rates (exclusive of VAT) are set with reference to our expertise and with careful consideration of the guidelines set by the Courts when assessing the level of legal costs. Our rates are actually below the guideline rates.
Paralegals: £200 plus VAT
Trainee Solicitor: £225 plus VAT
Legal Executive/Solicitor: £250 plus VAT
Directors: £300 plus VAT
The cost of dealing with a defended claim can be in the region of £1,500.00 – £3,000.00 plus VAT and disbursements, although more complicated cases can exceed this figure.
Service charge claims that are worth less than £10,000.01 will fall within the Small Claims Track at the County Court. Ordinarily, a party is not entitled to claim costs (other than limited fixed costs) from their opponent even if successful in their claim or defence.
If a case is defended and is worth over £10,000 you could potentially be liable for a leaseholder’s costs should they choose to instruct a solicitor and prove a successful defence. The primary circumstance where you might be liable for costs in a claim under £10,000.01 is where you have been found to have acted unreasonably.
We shall continue to advise you on the merits of your claims as well as the costs position through our tailored updates.
Straightforward cases will typically take between 3 – 6 months to conclude, whereas more complicated cases can take 12 – 24 months. We will explain the likely timescales and the procedure with you at the outset of the matter.
Our experts are fully qualified to undertake this work. The debt recovery work is currently supervised by Peter Cornell. Peter is a Solicitor and Director of LMP Law. Peter is assisted by a team of Solicitors and Paralegals including Bharath Sharma, Chantelle Mangia, Fateha Akhter, Cerys Williams, Numa Khanom, Luke Barton and Chantelle Thompson.
