Freeholder demands ground rent on flat I sold four months ago?

It’s possible that the solicitors acting for the purchaser have still not served the relevent notice on the freeholder or managing agent acting on their behalf of the change of ownership. They will eventually serve notice; it tends to be one of those admin type things that gets left by less efficient solicitors, albeit 4months down the road they should have served it by now. Ask your solicitor to check with the purchasers solicitor if they’ve served notice yet & if not, to urgently do so. In-between times I would suggest you contact the freeholder or their agent & confirm the completion date of the sale & new owner’s name & although their automated system might still spew out chase-up demand letters, at least you have evidence you’ve told them. I would nevertheless still suggest you continually email them on receipt of any future demands & each time remind them you sold on X date to Mr/Mrs X.

Reply to the comment left by Laura Delow at 04/02/2023 – 07:33
Contact Land Registry to check new purchasers are registered as titleholders to the lease. If not that’ll explain why you’re still getting GR demands.

Reply to the comment left by Andrew Morris at 30/01/2023 – 11:58The Deed of Assignment would have needed to be approved by the Freehold/Freeholder’s managing agent/solicitor prior to completion as drafted by the buyers conveyancer.

This seems to be an ongoing problem, with management companies using any means they can to obtain funds.
I continue to receive demands from a company 5 years on for ground rent who have been informed countless times by ourself and the solicitor who dealt with the sale of our property. But still this continues It would be great to hear how others successfully solved this issue without the need for legal action against the company involved.

Did you hold a share of the freehold held in a freehold resident owned management company? And that management company is limited liability registered at Companies House ie it has a company number and you had a £1 share certificate?
I suggest you may have a separate freehold title to a superior lease for which your conveyancers did not do a search.
You should talk to the Land Registry yourself.
If you are still a freeholder in joint ownership sharing freehold with the other flat owners you are still liable for the enforcement of Lease covenants which you have assigned to new purchasers whose own conveyancers did not carry out a search.