Rental property – insurance problems

bitsnbytes

No we don't pay service charges. I guess the redecoration etc would be done as part of the council work to the street. I would think the solicitor of the previous owner (we bought the flat from) would have responded to our solicitors enquries.

moromir

Sorry so is the freehold owned by the council?

If not they wouldn't be decorating a private block of flats..

Very odd situation

bitsnbytes

It isn't a private block of flats, just a converted house with a groundfloor and upstairs. No sure who owns the freehold but we do pay ground rent not sure to whom though

moromir

for all intents and purposes it is a private block of flats, its just so happens that it used to be a house and its been divided up.

Okay so if theres a freeholder, there must be a lease for each property. The lease should set out the insurance position - i.e. 99% of the time there is a management company to whom you pay service charge, part of which pays for the building insurance.

Largely because you personally can't insure the [whole] building because you don't own it (you will in all liklihood own the internal walls of your flat for example but not the exterior).

Sorry if I sound pedantic/off topic, I'm trying to work out the situation because its very odd - I didn't even know you could insurance a flat for buildings cover as a standalone unit!

bitsnbytes

Thanks moromir, not sure when I insured through simplelandlordsinsurance I was told to ensure the entire building to cover rebuild costs in case the property burnt down. I'll dig out the property papers and have a look

BitterAndTwisted

Under normal circumstances the freeholder you pay the ground-rent to would arrange for the buildings insurance and produce a bill to you for about 50% of it on an annual basis for doing so They are the entity which owns the building after all, not you.

If you have been arranging the buildings insurance yourself you should have been receiving about 50% of it from the other leaseholder every year upon renewal.

I suspect you may have taken out insurance when you didn't need to.

dacouch

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If damage has been caused to your property originating from a neighbour's you will be making a claim against their insurers, rather than your own. The excess on your own policy has nothing to do with it. At least, that's my understanding.

The neighboor is only legally liable if they've been negligent in the eyes of the law.

A water leak is not always an act of negligence.

It's not that easy to prove negligence