Demand for £4500 roof repairs HELP!

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Hi,

Hope this is the right place for this............

My Brother purchased a leasehold flat around 5 years ago. The property was a large semi, converted into 2 flats. He lives in the bottom one, and a very elderly gentleman lives above.

My brother came home one day to find scaffolding erected all around the house & when he asked the guys what they were doing, was told that the old man above was having a new roof.

My brother didn't think anymore about it, until this week, when he suddenly gets a letter from the old man requesting £4500, being half of the £9000 repairs!

Now, my brother has very little income, no savings, is just managing to pay his mortgage, and has 2 small kids.

Unfortunately, the old man is very hard of hearing, and it is impossible to have a face to face conversation with him.

The letter indicates that his solicitor will be in touch with my brother if payment is not made within 28 days.

Now, whilst we appreciate that he (brother) is liable for half the repairs, surely, one party cannot go ahead and agree such an expensive repair, without once notifying the other party, asking their agreement, or even running a quote past them?

My brother knows a lot of people in the building trade, and most of them have indicated that the roof repairs could have been done at half that price.

I am trying to respond to the letter on my brothers behalf, and am struggling to come up with a way forward. Even a nominal £10 per week would be unaffordable at the moment. My brother is even considering selling up & moving back in with mum, not good when you're almost 50!

Anyone have any advice?

pimento

Is the upstairs resident the freeholder?

SnowWhiterThanWhite

pimento wrote: »

Is the upstairs resident the freeholder?

Have just checked & my brother doesn't know.
I assume, as the old guy originally owned the property, that he retained the freehold, but can't say for definate at the moment.
Brother is trying to track down a copy of the lease.

KiKi

He also needs to check what percentage of maintenance and repairs is his responsibility. Does he contribute to a freehold fund, or is it on an 'as and when' basis?

It's very unreasonable to expect payment with little or no warning, absolutely unacceptable. I don't know if it's unlawful, though, and that's a whole other thing...

KiKi

SnowWhiterThanWhite

KiKi wrote: »

He also needs to check what percentage of maintenance and repairs is his responsibility. Does he contribute to a freehold fund, or is it on an 'as and when' basis?

It's very unreasonable to expect payment with little or no warning, absolutely unacceptable. I don't know if it's unlawful, though, and that's a whole other thing...

KiKi

Thanks, my thoughts too. I am pretty sure that repairs are 50/50. There is no maintenance fund or freehold fund.

sooz

Your brother needs to find his lease. & then read it!

Have a look at https://www.lease-advice.org

and try calling their help desk to tomorrow.

If your brother has not been served a section 20 notice, his liability may be limited to £250. But he must check his lease to see who the freeholder is, & who should have served the notice.

££sc££

Totally agree with Sooz.

1. Check his lease. If he can't find it, go back to the solicitor he used when he bought it, they may have kept the original for safekeeping.

2. If section 20 consultation procedure has not been followed, he can only be charged the £250. Part of this process is, he would have opportunity to nominate other contractors.

Completely unreasonable for works to be carried out and bills sent and that is the first the leaseholder hears of it.

Best of luck

G_M

In some leases, financial liability for all repairs is splt 50/50. In some, upstairs is liable for the roof, downstairs for the damp proofing etc. READ THE LEASE.

Responsibility for arranging repairs lies with the Freeholder (or joint freeholders), or the management company acting for freeholder if any. Download the freehold Title from the Land Registry for £4 to identify the freeholder.

Major repairs need to go through a consultation process. Get advice from Leaseadvice here.

Don't act rashly. Take time and gather information. There is no hurry. Legal action, if indeed it can be taken, will take time so threats of solicitors should be ignored. Calmly gather the facts before you respond.

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Consultation on major works

Where a landlord proposes to carry out works of repair, maintenance or improvement which would cost an individual service charge payer more than £250, he must, before proceeding, formally consult all those expected to contribute to the cost (under Section 20 of Landlord and Tenant Act 1985). This has the dual effect of giving notice of his intentions to the leaseholders and seeking their view on the proposed works.

• The landlord must serve a notice of intention on each leaseholder (and on the secretary of the recognised tenants' association, if there is one), which:
  • describes in general terms the proposed works or specifies where a description of the proposed works can be inspected and the hours during which it can be inspected. The inspection facilities must be made available free of charge, at a specified time and place. If, at that time and place, there are no facilities for copying the proposals, then the landlord must, on request, provide a copy of the description;
  • explains why the landlord considers the works necessary;
  • identifies the persons the landlord has asked, or proposes to ask, for an estimate of the costs;
  • invites observations in writing and states where the observation should be sent;
  • invites the leaseholder (and the recognised tenants' association) to nominate a person from whom the landlord should try to obtain an estimate. (This invitation does not apply, however, in cases where a public notice of works is to be made in the Official Journal of the European Union (see EU implications for consultation above);
• The leaseholder (and the Recognised Tenants' Association) has a period of 30 days in which to send views to the landlord.

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Can't thank you enough for your comments, the links are really useful.

I will update this thread as/when further info becomes available

Thanks!