greedy, unethical landlords

[gazumped]

If a landlord quotes a price for a lease extention and fixes the validity of that price for a period of 6 months, is he at liberty after only 4 months has elapsed - and whilst the purchase is proceeding - to change his mind and demand an additional 40% on top of his original asking ( and agreed) price ? If the answer is 'yes', how can a tenant ever be sure what the eventual cost of the extention will be, especially AFTER he has committed himself to considerable expense in relation to the purchase, includind �500 to the landlord's surveyor and nearly �1,000 to his solicitor ? (What a novel way of generating additional income for the landlord's professional team !) If 'no', then what are my remedies ? GAZUMPED!

[Loosehead]

Yes they can, It's out of order but it's no different from standard gazumping. It's also a symptom of leasehold property.

[themas]

Go here
www.lease-advice.org

They should be able to advise you. What you describe is certainly unethical. Whether you can prevent it is another matter, but the landlord certainly does not have a free hand to demand any price he happens to think of. It might be something that would have to be referred to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide. Are you using your own surveyor to negotiate? This is a specialist area and you should be using a surveyor who is experienced in this type of work.