leasehold buildings insurance contribution

portisaacproperties

I am required under the terms of a 999 year lease on a garage under an adjoining coach house flat to pay 1/6th. of the landlords buildings insurance. He has submitted a bill for my 1/6th. His buildings policy is heavily loaded as he uses the flat as a holiday home. Am I responsible to pay for loadings for " special purposes" for which my landlord may choose to use the property?
Any help would be much appreciated.

westernpromise

If the lease says so then yes, I would think, unless you can show that he has breached the lease by altering the use of the coachhouse.

portisaacproperties

The lease doesn`t specify but the landlord has billed me for 1/6th of his buildings and contents which I dispute. He is also heavily loaded because he uses the flat as a holiday home. I think that I am only liable for standard buildings insurance and that if the landlord wants to use it for any other than standard domestic use he should pay the extra. What if he wanted to use it as say a nightclub or for entertaining high-risk foreign dignitaries surely that would be his choice and his liability???

westernpromise

I'm not sure that follows. If the lease says you're liable for 1/6th of the cost of the insurance then I suspect you're liable unless the lessor's obligations are not to use it except as a private residence. If the lease is silent on this point then probably he does have complete latitude. Bear in mind he's still paying 5/6ths of the premium so it's not like he's backing most of the charge off onto you.

Who conveyanced this deal for you? I do think you need a proper legal opinion. It may be that some provision of common law around property governs this.

For example, just because there's nothing in your lease that says the property can't be used for the manufacture of illegal explosives, that doesn't mean that it can. There are general provisions against that which mean it's not necessary to say it again in every lease. In the same way, it may be that a lessor can't change the use in a material way eg from residential use to commercial letting, and that this applies to every lease whether written into it or not. I dunno.

There are law firms that do the first question or first 15 minutes free of for £10. I'd maybe try one of those to see if there's any basis for a challenge, or if whatever the lease says is automatically the last word on the matter.

davidmcn

portisaacproperties wrote: »

What if he wanted to use it as say a nightclub or for entertaining high-risk foreign dignitaries surely that would be his choice and his liability???

Yes, if the lease said so. It's quite a common consideration when negotiating leases (at least for commercial premises). But if it simply says he arranges the insurance and you need to pay 1/6 of it, that's what happens.

portisaacproperties

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I think you are probably dead right! , but I am not liable for his contents as it says on the lease. I dont mind paying what I am due, I just dont want to pay over the odds.
Thanks