Repairs to garage rented from council

lorrainp

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum, or if I should be positing in Consumer Rights?

I have a garage that I've rented off the council for many years. The lock has just broken and the council have said that they have 21 days to repair it, so they've given me an appointment date 21 days from now (xmas eve!). They said that it would only be treated as an emergency if it were my dwelling - garages don't qualify for any kind of emergency treatment

I explained to them that I have motorbikes stored in there, for which the insurance requires that they be kept in a locked garage, and if these were to get stolen while the lock is broken, I would expect the insurers to hold the council liable.

Firstly, am I right that the council could be held liable? Or would my insurance just refuse to pay out, and I've lost both my bikes?

Secondly, is there any way I can force the council that might make them fix this more quickly (or any other tools of persuasion that I could apply)?

I'm not sure where I stand with this legally?

Thanks in advance.

davidmcn

lorrainp wrote: »

Firstly, am I right that the council could be held liable? Or would my insurance just refuse to pay out, and I've lost both my bikes?

The latter. The insurers just want a locked garage, they don't care whose fault it is that it isn't locked.

Secondly, is there any way I can force the council that might make them fix this more quickly (or any other tools of persuasion that I could apply)?

Realistically, I doubt it. Can't you fix it yourself?

jjlandlord

I think that the starting point is that the council has no duty to repair the lock unless it is so agreed in the lease. Here they do seem to accept responsibility, so you should be happy.

Then, you have a duty to reasonably secure whatever property is insured, and to follow the terms of the policy if you want the insurance to pay out in case of theft.
You know the lock is broken, so either you fix it or you find another way to secure your bikes.

JimmyTheWig

Do the council have a different garage you could use for the next 21 days?

sinizterguy

The Council have no duty to move any quicker than they have to.

Your insurance needs your bikes locked up - They will not hold the Council liable. They may hold you liable - i.e. the same as having no insurance.

Fix it or pay for it yourself or find somewhere else to stash your bikes till the Council gets around to it.

No amount of complaining is likely to change any of the above between now and Christmas eve.

JimmyTheWig

What's the wording on your insurance?
Presumably they don't have to be locked up every night - e.g. if you go away for the weekend on your bike that might not be practical.

If the insurance stipulates that they must be normally locked up at night then I would argue that they are.

But if the insurance stipulates that they are locked up whenever kept at home overnight, or that they cannot be left not locked up for more than, say, 14 consecutive days then you've got a problem.