A renter who missed an 'incredibly archaic UK specific' payment was left distraught after being landed with a £1700 bill.

Posting on the r/HousingUK forum on Reddit, a user explained their troublesome situation whilst also admitting 'I am an idiot'.

They said: "As the title says I stupidly missed some ground rent payments and now this has been ballooned into over £1,700 . Is there anything at all I can do ?

"Yes I admit being an idiot. I was away and missed the 2 payments. They started sending me letters demanding can't remember exact amount think it was just over £300. I refused, spoke with them multiple times to come to an agreement and they keep on refusing. and now here we are to over £1700".

What is ground rent?

Ground rent is a fee paid by a leaseholder to the property's freeholder for the right to occupy the land the property is built on. 

It's a common arrangement for flats and maisonettes, where the leaseholder owns the building but not the land.

The Reddit thread then exploded with people arguing over who was in the wrong.

One user said: "how did you forget to pay the ground rent for 3 years?"

To which another replied: "How could anyone possibly forget to pay this one incredibly archaic, UK specific annual £5 bill?!! It boggles the mind."

Why do we pay ground rent?

As a leaseholder, you need to pay ground rent because the freeholder owns the land, and you pay them to ‘lease’ the land on which your property is located.

While there is thought to be reform underway on ground rent in the UK, currently leaseholders lease the land and the actual property separately.

Is ground rent the same as rent?

Ground rent is not the same as rent. Regular rent – what tenants, landlords and estate agencies usually refer to as ‘rent’ – is the monthly charge for living in the owner’s property.

Freeholders tend to charge ground rent in addition to this.