Four leaseholders in Hitchin are furious after their ground rent was increased by 9,000 per cent.

The £25 per year they previously had to pay has now soared to a horrifying £2,350, and left a 90-year-old resident facing "sleepless nights" after being hit with a bill for more than £17,000.

Leaseholders own their homes, but not the land on which they live. Rent on the land must therefore be paid to the landlord, in this case Quadron Investments Ltd.

The leaseholders, at Elgin House, were told in 2020 that under the terms of their lease the freeholder could increase ground rent up to around £2,000 per year.

Quadron offered instead to limit the increase to £1,000 - even though properties with ground rent above £250 per year have often been left unsellable across the country.

Not every flat in Elgin House has been hit in the same way - three other properties in the same block had previously agreed changes to their ground rent, and now pay £100 per year.

When the four leaseholders pushed back against the £1,000 figure, their case went to arbitration through the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in September 2021.

Then, in June 2023, they were informed that the arbitrator had found that, under the terms of the lease, the ground rent should be increased to £2,350 per year.

To make matters worse, it would be backdated to 2018.

It led to 90-year-old Derek, an owner-occupier, being sent an invoice in March this year for more than £17,000, including ground rent and other charges.

Just two weeks after receiving the invoice, he received another letter stating that if surveyors Salter Rex, working on behalf of Quadron, did not "receive settlement by return of post, we will have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings for the recovery without further notice".

It has taken a toll on Derek, who told the Comet: "Whatever the legalities, I consider the total amount of £17,000 plus to be a completely unfair charge, and find it outrageous that I should receive notice that legal proceedings will commence to receive this amount if settlement is not made by return post only two weeks after receiving the bill.

"All this has caused endless worry, sleepless nights, and a dread of what may next arrive in the post."

One leaseholder, John, said: "We feel trapped. There is no possibility of selling my flat with a ground rent at this level, or even with the £1,000 originally offered which is why we rejected it, especially as the other three flats have a previously agreed ground rent of just £100 per year.

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"It is grossly unfair and, being in my late 70s, I have little chance of obtaining a loan or remortgage, so am cornered".

Another leaseholder, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that Salter Rex's "intimidating demands for payment ... feel like harassment". They added that the level of ground rent asked for is "crippling and unfair", and is bringing "misery" for those who now face huge bills.

The leaseholders say that the £2,350 per year figure is based on a significantly higher market value than the flats would now be sellable for, and will make their properties unsellable.

All of them say that they were not told of the possibility of a significantly increased ground rent when they purchased their properties - one of them just months before they were informed about the new, significantly higher rate.

Under the terms of the lease, the rent could be reviewed in March 2018, and every fifty years thereafter, to the "annual ground value of the premises". The clause in question, as the arbitrator noted, "includes no requirement for the level of rent to be 'reasonable'."

The leaseholders best hope now may lie in new legislation being passed.

The Conservatives promised in their 2019 manifesto to "restrict ground rents to a peppercorn".

But, five years later and with a general election looming, only legislation affecting new properties has been brought forward.

A Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill is currently being discussed by parliamentarians, but plans to reduce ground rents to a "peppercorn" level have been blocked.

A consultation concluded in January, and the Financial Times reports that the government is now expected to impose an annual cap of around £250 on ground rents.

Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, told the Comet: "As the Treasury minister dealing with this, I can assure you that as a government we are committed to removing the sort of terrible practices that are alleged at Elgin House.

"We have outlawed ground rents going forward [on newly built properties], and we are seeking to deal with pre-existing ground rents - and to do so for the benefit of leaseholders".

Whether changes come in time to help the leaseholders at Elgin House, however, remains to be seen.

Responding to this article, Salter Rex told us that they are discussing possible payment plans with leaseholders. Quadron did not respond to our request for comment.