Breach of lease, need advice

AdrianC

Zod666 wrote: »

...along with the likely financial cost of enforcing.

You knew that the lease required carpets when you had the wood floor installed. The cost of coming back into conformity with your lease is entirely your own fault.

Zod666 wrote: »

No, no one has formally complained about them

So what's keeping you?

Zod666 wrote: »

Again I disagree, the other people who have wood flooring are friends of the director in question who is well aware they have this but turns a blind eye.

As they did with your own floor UNTIL they received a complaint about it.

bouicca21

Why don't you just talk to the complainant and see whether they still have a gripe about noise or whether changing the fan sorted it? Being confrontational isn't going to get you anything but grief.

zod666

bouicca21 wrote: »

Why don't you just talk to the complainant and see whether they still have a gripe about noise or whether changing the fan sorted it? Being confrontational isn't going to get you anything but grief.

unfortunately although I would like to do this the person in question is a bit unhinged. Prior to the whole situation escalating they mentioned a 'droning noise' once to me in passing and as the extractor fan noise was travelling upwards it didnt sound very loud in my flat. However the noise must have got to them as they proceeded to bang loudly on my door one morning at 5:30am (when I was getting ready for work) whilst screaming to 'turn that sound off'.

I then spoke to the person and identified where the sound was coming from and then turned off the extractor fan. It has since been replaced but in the meantime or prior to this event they made the complaint to the mgmt company (about everything they could think of as they didnt know what was causing the noise).

while I admit that the noise must have been annoying, i think they totally overreacted as it sounded like the door was about to be kicked in in a police raid!!

unfortunately we are not exactly on speaking terms after that.

pimento

Zod666 wrote: »

unfortunately we are not exactly on speaking terms after that.

They have something you want. Take a deep breath, smile and knock at their door.

TBagpuss

I agree. Go back to the neighbour, smile, explain that the extractor fan has been fixed and that you are just checking that she has not noticed any further noise. If she says no, it's fine now, then write to the management company stating the the complaint about sound has now been resolved and hat your neighbour has confirmed that there is no longer any problem.

Obviously this would not stop them from pursuing the issue of the flooring, but if there is no loner any ongoing complaint of noise hey may well take the view that they can draw a line under the issue rather than proceedings with an expensive quarrel with you.


Obviously if they pursue it may be worth you speaking to the other tenants who you know have hard flooring - or who you get on well with. A complaint from another leaseholder about incurring costs to resolve a non-existent problem might make them think again about following through, if you don't lay carpets voluntarily.

bristol_pilot

vivatifosi wrote: »

Not an expert on covenants, but have taken legal advice on each of our covenants to see about enforceability (freehold estate rather than leasehold flats) as a director of the RMC. In the event of the situation above, rather than taking the issue to court, we would refuse to issue the certificate to complete a future sale until the householder paid up. In fact, we had an owner default and their property was reposessed, it was a condition of the sale that the bank paid the outstanding arears before it went through (they did).

This is the type of action that RMCs can take without going to the cost of the High Court to enforce. As I said, my estate is freehold (houses), so not a direct comparison, maybe someone else can confirm whether this would be the case or not... but is it possible that when you (OP) put your flat up for sale, that the RMC could contact the selling agents and inform them that it does not meet the criteria of the lease and requesting that this information is passed to any future buyers. G_M and other experts, what do you think? We do something similar here, but it relates to the advertisement of houses with allocated parking when there isn't any, and it belongs to the management company. That may be a more black and white case, however.

That is, in fact, how we eventually got the ground rent out of that idiot. The OP, however, does not appear to be selling his flat.

princeofpounds

I'm very surprised no-one has directed you to lease-advice.org.

This is a govt funded advice service for matters like this. Combined with perhaps one discussion with a solicitor, if you so wish, it should help you understand your position. There is a difference between something being written in a lease and enforceability, particularly if we are looking at trivialities (I would not say that if you were not the ground floor) that are unevenly enforced.

There are also procedures to enforce management companies to perform their duties properly, although again it is not straightforward to enforce.

zod666

thanks for everyones responses. After I told the mgmt company I would lay some rugs(which I had done anyway previously) and would make an extra effort to leave quietly on a morning for work they seem to have accepted the compromise and dropped their complaint.

I did happen to mention that if they went ahead with it I was aware of other tenants in the block who had laid wood floors and also made various other breaches of the lease that I would be complaining about and would expect them to enforce. Also that I would be willing to challenge them legally over this.....strangely enough their appetite for a fight diminished after that.

I'm just happy the issue is settled now.

Southend1

Well I'm glad it's resolved OP, but I'm equally glad I'm not your neighbour! Living in flats, terraced houses etc requires consideration for others, which includes obeying any covenants you agreed to on purchasing the property.

zod666

Southend1 wrote: »

Well I'm glad it's resolved OP, but I'm equally glad I'm not your neighbour! Living in flats, terraced houses etc requires consideration for others, which includes obeying any covenants you agreed to on purchasing the property.

yes because it was so inconsiderate of me to immediately replace the extractor fan (the cause of the problem) and to stand up for myself against a bullying corrupt mgmt company.

If you bothered to read the thread before passing judgement you would note that the floors have never been a problem to anyone

a) because my flat is on the ground floor
b) because they are good quality solid oak with sound reducing underfloor on concrete subfloor unlike the crap laminate it replaced.

It must be cold up there in your ivory tower.....and a message to AndrianC, those grapes you're eating are a little sour, so you can both F*** off!