Leasehold vs Council

lairylisa

Hi All

Bit of tricky one. We are in the process of upgrading the house to sell. We leasehold to our local council and have kept inside perfect. While doing a snag list for ourselves we noticed nearly all the Lintels have blown, causing all the plaster to have blown above the windows. The gaps are quite substantial and there's no doubt that's where the damp has got in. The job could be quite expensive but we don't feel we have to pay all as the council owns the property and should be doing all external repairs, we do have to pay a service charge and are concerned they will claw the money back through that. We are so desperate to move because of sh?@ty neighbours and this was the last thing we needed. Could anyone let us know if they have had similar situations or what would be the next steps for us to sort it. Any titbits of info and advice would be so so helpful.

Thank you all

The Pickles

lairylisa

Anyone with any advice would be really welcome, thank you

AndyGuil

What does it say in the lease about the windows? What does it say about the building with regards to repair?

Ether_4

Be careful and if your not sure do speak to the lease holder. My father had a flat once and one of the communal windows was smashed and had been for a few years. He decided to replace it for free and he got a nasty letter saying he owed them money as he replaced the window. Eventually common sense prevailed but he was very concerned at first

AnnieO1234

I would be very surprised even if the freeholder is a council if they have any repairing obligations. Check the lease, that's the only way you will know.

Xx

eddddy

Hi lairylisa

Are you saying that you own the lease of house, and the council is the freeholder? And there is an external problem with the structure of the building which is allowing damp to penetrate?

Check your lease, and if it says that the freeholder (council) is responsible for maintaining the structure of the building, report the problem to them.

(Having reported it to them, you could also suggest that you will hold them responsible for any further damage, if they don't fix it within a reasonable time.)

Realistically, it doesn't make sense for you to repair the plaster until the external problem is fixed. The new plaster would just get damp again.


ETA: And - Yes, the cost of any repairs will be recovered from all leaseholders through the service charge. That's how all leases work.

(Unfortunately, if you're trying to sell, a big potential service charge, because of repairs, may scare off potential buyers.)

Doozergirl

As leaseholders, you are responsible for paying for all repairs to the building. In a block of flats, depending on the terms of the lease , the cost of repairs can be shared between all flats even if it affects just one.

As you live in a house, the cost of repairs lands firmly on your own shoulders.

A freeholder has no responsibility to pay for anything although they *may* have responsibility for organising the works and billing you for them. This would almost certainly be more expensive than organising works yourself as they also have overheads , but the terms of your lease may dictate that they do .

Don't be under any illusion that the freeholder pays for anything. You need to check your lease to establish who organises work.

lairylisa

Since posting up the original message, it appears that the Lintels of the flat May not have been built properly and the weight of the flat above has caused the cracks and allowed damp to penetrate. If it is a structural problem with the building that a surveyor did not pick up when I bought the leasehold, what should we do?

Doozergirl

lairylisa wrote: »

Since posting up the original message, it appears that the Lintels of the flat May not have been built properly and the weight of the flat above has caused the cracks and allowed damp to penetrate. If it is a structural problem with the building that a surveyor did not pick up when I bought the leasehold, what should we do?

Ostensibly, it is your house and your problem.

There is nothing different to yesterday. The lintels need replacing, you need to pay for it, the lease will detail who is responsible for organising the work.

Edit: Now you're saying it's a flat? The responsibility for orgnaising the work is probably that of the freeholder. If you want to sell any time soon, you need to get on with this as they will need to inspect and organise quotes.

It might be that the work can be carried out after the sale has gone through. In that case, your solicitor will probably hold on to some of the proceeds from the sale which should be released back to your buyer to pay the invoice when it arrives.

harrys_dad

Is it a flat or a house? (you have said two different things). What does the lease say about responsibility for structural repairs?

lairylisa

It is a ground floor flat and it mentions about external repairs not structural damage! Surely, these are two different things.