Leaking roof found after purchase

TranceNRG

Hi guys,
I was hoping you'd able to advise me on the difficult situation I'm in.

I bought my 2 bed ground floor flat (period conversion) in West London 3 weeks ago and I wanted to a complete refurbishment. We started renovations this week. Yesterday evening my builder gave me some bad news - When they stripped out the kitchen and bathroom they found leaks along the walls and ceiling also damaged. Upon inspection of the roof he found that the roof (flat roof with felt) was in a very poor state and said it needed to be replaced. This is the roof of the extension at the back which houses the kitchen and the bathroom.
The dimensions of the extension (internally) are 3.6m x 3.3m.

I was pretty upset to hear this news as I'm financing the renovations with a loan.

Builder reckons the lead flashings look OK but the roof is in a shocking state. According to him, the previous owner just fixed the flashings but didn't fix the roof so it wouldn't be obvious the roof was in a bad state, from the garden. Also very dissapointed the building survey didn't find this issue considering the flat roof is very accessible from the garden and is only about 2.5m high.
This is what the building report said:

Condition: The flat roof appears in reasonable condition, although some attention is required to the flashings.

Repairs: Repair flashing to the flat roof.

My builder reckons the whole roof needs to be replaced down to the underlay and reckons he can do it for £750 including materials. He also wants another £350 to replace the ceiling which is also damaged.

I'm getting another roof repairer in tomorrow to give me another quote but I'm pretty sure it will be more than what my builder has quoted.

In my opinion the surveyor should have notified me of this problem and because of their negligence I'm having to pay £1000+ to fix the problem.

What options do I have? Should I contact the surveyor and explain situation and ask for compensation? Should I go back to my solicitor and ask them to contact surveyor? I think my solicitor will charge to send them a letter.

Appreciate your input.

thanks.

nidO

Did you have a full structural survey done, or just a homebuyer report?

If you had a full survey done contact the surveyor, as they should not have missed a leaking roof. If you just had a homebuyer report done, well, you should have had a full structural survey done, sorry.

agrinnall

If your survey was anything like mine it will have been full of caveats, particularly about flat roofs, and will have advised instructing specialist surveys for anything that seemed the least bit dodgy. If it did, and you didn't, then you don't have a leg to stand on.

CLAPTON

depends

could it reasonably be seem without removing the felt or stripping out the kitchen or bathroom?

TranceNRG

It wasn't the full structural survey but the one in the middle. I think it was the building survey?

And no it's very visible as soon as you climb on to the roof. My builder has sent me lots of pictures. I can post a few if you like..

From my memory, it didn't say anything about getting a specialist in to check the roof but did say something like that about the electrical wiring.

teneighty

TranceNRG wrote: »

And no it's very visible as soon as you climb on to the roof.

But how high is the roof? Most surveys will have a disclaimer about accessing areas not visible from ground level or 3 or 4 metre ladder.

A flat roof on a single storey extension would probably be covered but probably not a second storey or higher.

Certainly worth putting in a formal complaint to the survey firm (assuming it was carried out by an RICS firm) before you get the roof fixed. Then if necessary taking it to the relevant ombudsman scheme. From your description and the low value of the claim I would be reasonably confident of a successful outcome.

casper_g

As the OP bought a ground floor flat I think this is very likely a single-storey flat-roofed extension at the back of the property. Am I right?

System

I can't see a surveyor coming along with a ladder, just propping against a building and climbing it. H&S would preclude that action unless there was a second person anchoring the base of the ladder and acting as safety man.

TranceNRG

casper_g wrote: »

As the OP bought a ground floor flat I think this is very likely a single-storey flat-roofed extension at the back of the property. Am I right?

This is correct. The roof is only about 2.5m high. In the report he mentions 'roof is in reasonably good condition'

TranceNRG

teneighty wrote: »

But how high is the roof? Most surveys will have a disclaimer about accessing areas not visible from ground level or 3 or 4 metre ladder.

A flat roof on a single storey extension would probably be covered but probably not a second storey or higher.

Certainly worth putting in a formal complaint to the survey firm (assuming it was carried out by an RICS firm) before you get the roof fixed. Then if necessary taking it to the relevant ombudsman scheme. From your description and the low value of the claim I would be reasonably confident of a successful outcome.

It was carried out by a company called Landmark surveyors on Halifax bank's instructions.

I need the roof fixed asap as it's badly leaking and the builders can't do anything to the kitchen and bathroom without first fixing the roof and then replacing the ceiling.

I have the quote from my builder and I will get another quote tomorrow. I was thinking of giving the job to my builder (as long as he's not more expensive than the other guy) and getting the roof replaced asap. Then later dealing with the solicitor/surveyor

PasturesNew

!!!!!! wrote: »

I can't see a surveyor coming along with a ladder

They do. I had one turn up at mine with a ladder, like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopic-Ladder-Unique-Integral-Stabiliser/dp/B001O3CJD8

She went up inside the loft with it.

But, I'd not expect a surveyor to be clambering up single storey extensions to check flat roofs.