Shared ownership property repairs - who should pay?

btowill

This is an ongoing problem, so it's a bit complicated but I will try and summarise...

I bought a new build shared ownership flat in 2008.

Our completion date was put back by a fortnight as they said there was some water damage in the ceiling in the hallway which needed to be repaired - apparently from water trapped inside the structure at the time of construction.

Since then, the water stain has repeatedly reappeared. The property builders (Barratts) repaired the damage for the first two years, then after that the housing association sent their maintenance people around.

Each time, they have never investigated where the water is coming from (it is a really gradual thing and can take months to reappear) but rather paint over it saying 'it looks like it is historical'. One time they did cut out the piece of plasterboard, as it had grown to about a 30cm in diameter.

5 years on and it is still happening. However, this time they actually sent a surveyor around who has been into the flats above me to look at their layout and try to work out where it might be coming from (although they didn't actually see the pipework, as it's all hidden behind the tiles in the lady's bathroom). They have gone away saying they will get the plans for the pipework to try and figure out what might be causing the damage.

HOWEVER... they are now intimating that myself and the lady in the flat above me may have to claim on our contents insurance!!!

I have emails going back to 2008, which document every time I reported the problem, but nothing that says in writing about my moving in date being delayed. Also, the chap in charge of shared ownership is just a middle man, so every reply says 'thank you, I have passed your email onto the relevant person'. The only one I have that even hints at him acknowledging it is their responsibility says "Just to advise the 6 months defects issues have been passed on to Barratt. They are aware that these issues are outstanding".

I contacted Barratts to see if they had a schedule of works, but the girl who called me back said that it had been 'destroyed' -?? Should they have done this? Surely they can't destroy anything that might link to claiming against the NHBC?

Should my housing association have to keep a record too? They always seem oblivious to my previous problems each time they visit...

What can I do? It's bad enough that this has been going on for so long, let alone having to put up with the ever-increasing black mould which now measures about 70 cm and is creeping down the wall (plus the surveyor reckons it will be coming from the stench pipe - nice!) but now they are trying to get out of paying to fix it properly!

HELP!!!

(sorry, I said I was going to keep it short, didn't I?!)

btowill

I've now heard from the HA and they are going to inspect the flat above next week. They are still hinting that they expect us to pay for the repairs, and when I mentioned trying to build evidence to try and get Barratts to pay for it they said it wasn't worth their while.

Anyone hav any advice, or know what I should do next? Am I even posting this in the most appropriate place on the forum?

Thanks for looking

Hump

Read your lease agreement - generally structure and external falls to freeholder (they that grant the lease i.e. the Housing Association). Generally internal decoration would fall to you - try asking for a gesture of goodwill given the length of time this has taken