00:00A change in legislation, which could have cost him hundreds of pounds, is what John O'Neill was up against
00:08when he tried to extend the lease on his rental property in Twiddle.
00:11Previously, such administration cost him a tenner, but Medway Council's legal department had insisted on a new clause, which would
00:20charge him £100 per document that he submitted to do this.
00:25In a few years' time, it could be £300 or £400 per document, certified, plus VAT, so I couldn't really
00:34accept that, so I had to make sure that it didn't go through.
00:37But such a clause can only be enforced if something is wrong with the contract, or both parties agreed to
00:42make this change.
00:44So John took this to a tribunal, where an agreement was reached before the hearing, and he was then asked
00:50to pay a one-off £75 fee instead.
00:53Before, the new clause they wanted to put in was a minimum of £100 per document, and each document had
01:04to be certified, so I'd have to get a list and pay you to get that certified, and it was
01:08£100 for each document, plus VAT.
01:11But this was only the beginning, as his complaints to Medway Council was dismissed.
01:17Now, John doesn't live in the property in question behind me, but he says he's willing to take the complaint
01:23as far as it goes.
01:26Yeah, it's just one of the things you just can't let go, because I can't understand it.
01:29If I could understand it, and they said to me, oh, look, we did muck up, or, you know, had
01:33a bad day, I'd say, yeah, fine, but just not to answer you, and then just say, oh, we can't
01:38deal with your complaint, and that was another issue.
01:40A Medway Council confirmed that both leaseholders and the council's legal team engaged in separate negotiations with Mr O'Neill
01:49to try and reach an agreement on the amendments without needing to go to tribunal.
01:54But for John, the fight is still on.
01:58Megan Shaw in Twiddle.
