As a leaseholder, do I have to pay for external works of my flat?

ILW

I think that to challenge a repair valuation at least 50% of the leaseholders have to agree to it. As in your case 75% of the leaseholders are the council, this may be difficult.

boomerangs

werdas wrote: »

There is only 4 flats in the block, I believe 3 ot them are council's flat,
As far as I remember no one told me about the planning works when I was buying that flat, perhaps I would have changed my mind...
I do not have these money and I do not need these works....

This is the main reason why you should never buy an ex-council flat. When the time for repairs comes along you invariably end up paying for those that don't have to pay. The other 3 flats don't pay a penny, you pay their bills for them. The council will deny this of course but in practice this is how it works out.

Idonex

Exactly. You foot the bill for everyone elses council house being renovated. Freehold ex-la houses aren't so bad in that you won't get billed, but even then you have to watch while everyone elses house gets renovated and repaired for free..

werdas

I will read a leaseholder agreement, to see do I need pay... but I think I will have to....
Also there will be a Leaseholder Consultation Meeting 26/11,
I need to do a list what should I ask....

BitterAndTwisted

You need to see documentary evidence about how they arrived at the figure they gave you, including the written quotations.

My mother bought her ex-LA flat and was convinced that the leaseholders were charged a much higher percentage of the total cost than could be justified but she was on a much larger development. She was in dispute with the LA right up to the day she died so we never got to see the proof of those charges

werdas

pie81

OK. Looks like the biggest cost is for windows and doors so it's worth checking carefully whether this is something you are liable for.

You need to read your lease very carefully to work out whether maintenance of the windows and doors is something that the freeholder is supposed to do for all flats, or something that each individual leaseholder is supposed to do for his own flat.

If each individual leaseholder is supposed to take care of his own windows and doors then you should not be liable to pay for the costs of replacing other flats' windows and doors. However if it's something the freeholder is supposed to do for all flats then you will have to pay... it doesn't matter that you did your own quite recently.

Can you post any bit of the lease that refers to windows and doors?

werdas

Oldernotwiser

werdas wrote: »

windows were in awfull state , it did not close properly, gaps and holes were filled with expamsion foam, no good to be used...

But you don't just go and get them done independently in a leasehold flat!

Many blocks won't allow different flats to have different styles of window for a start and it should be clear in your lease whether you're allowed to do this or not.

pie81

Hmm.. I think the relevant words are the words at 5(2) "Pay to the Corporation... a proportionate part of the expenses and outgoings incurred in the repair maintenance renewal ... of the Estate... and of improvements thereto insofar as the expenses incurred in respect of such improvements are reasonable."

Basically this means that if the new windows and doors are part of the "repair" or "renewal" of the Estate then you have to pay your share. Or if they are not a repair or renewal but are an "improvement" of the Estate, then you still have to pay your share, but the cost must be "reasonable".

I don't know whether they are a repair/renewal or an improvement, this probably depends on how bad the existing windows and doors are.

if the current ones are fine then probably the new ones are an "improvement". in that case you might be able to argue that the cost is not "reasonable" by saying that the existing ones are fine... but they may disagree.

I think the only way you could get out of paying altogether is if you can argue that windows and doors are not part of the "Estate", but that seems unlikely.

sorry.

PS I think oldernotwiser has it right, you probably shouldn't have done your own windows without the freeholders consent... this is the problem with leasehold, the flat is not totally "yours".