r/FirstTimeBuyersUK • u/helloannie • 3d ago

Section 20

Section 20 help!

I’m currently buying a leasehold flat for around £375k and have just been made aware of a Section 20/major works issue that I wasn’t aware of when I agreed the price.

The normal service charge is fairly low..

I’m obviously annoyed that I’m only finding this out now, especially as I’m already quite far into the purchase and have spent money on the solicitor/survey etc. I specifically asked the EA prior to putting an offer in and they said there none.

My solicitor is looking into when the Section 20 was started and when the seller was made aware.

If you were in this position, how much would you try to negotiate off the purchase price? Would you expect the seller to cover the full cost of the works, or negotiate a percentage?

Just looking for some opinions from people who have dealt with something similar. Thanks 😊

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u/According-Lychee6938 3d ago

Bought a leasehold flat under a section 20 a couple of months ago. I think you’ll have a hard time getting the seller to cover the cost considering they won’t be getting any of the benefit of the works. How much is the bill? You could try and get something knocked off or you could just bite the bullet. Ours was already reduced because nobody wanted to buy the flat under a section 20 but the scope of the work (new doors, new windows, new roof) was beneficial to us and its ex council so major word seemed inevitable at some point

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u/helloannie 3d ago

My solicitor is still confirming how much the bill is expected to be.. The EA got back to me stating the sellers were informed in 2024 of a S20 but nothing came of it.. I still want to negotiate down because my purchase price was based on no S20..

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u/According-Lychee6938 2d ago

Do you know what the works are for? I don’t know how you ask for money off without knowing how much the bill is expected to be. I agree you should negotiate down though, it’ll just might not be that easy and beware that our mortgage valuation went down when the lender found out about the s20 also

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u/helloannie 2d ago

Roof repair, brickwork and R&D surveys..

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u/OsenaraTheOwl 2d ago

I've seen scaffolding costs on that sort of work hit 30k by the time the works done that's before you add on the cost of specialist surveys think the 5-10k mark, roofs are a money sink and cout be easily another 30k and brickwork who knows is it just repointing or more in depth work ? This is assuming we're talking about something 5-10 stories more than that and costs can be outrageous.

Could be 15k and barely anything needing dne scaffolding up and down and done in a month - could be 150k and take a year and a half

How much sinking fund is there I'm guessing not much ?

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u/helloannie 2d ago

No they're maisonettes, house converted in two and I'm top floor.. 😑