Leasehold repairs when other occupiers are council tennants

giraffe69

I have a flat in a block which mostly has council tenants. Only about 3 are privately owned. We found all this out from our solicitor. We do have a bill for some work outside on the roof and it is indeed split between the flats equally. The only bad thing is that the council get the quotes ad don't do much to ensure value for money

Lioness_Twinkletoes

giraffe69 wrote: »

I have a flat in a block which mostly has council tenants. Only about 3 are privately owned. We found all this out from our solicitor. We do have a bill for some work outside on the roof and it is indeed split between the flats equally. The only bad thing is that the council get the quotes ad don't do much to ensure value for money

If the Council didn't tender for the work then you can challenge the costs. They have to carry out legal consultation if they intend charging more than £250 per flat. Part of that consultation is a tendering process.

eddddy

Mortgage_Moog wrote: »

It says

"When any major work has been completed you will get an invoice for your share of the actual costs the council paid for carrying out this work.".

As for what my share is, it says

"The council calculates how much it costs in total to provide a service or amenity to your block or estate and then divides this cost into individual contributions to be paid by tenants and leaseholders."

Are you sure those are extracts from your lease? They sound more like extracts from something like "A Leaseholder's Handbook" or "A Guide to Your Lease" issued by the council.

Your actual Lease document will say how your contribution to the freeholder's repairs is calculated.

(If all 4 flats are similar, your contribution is likely to be 25%)

Mortgage_Moog

giraffe69 wrote: »

I have a flat in a block which mostly has council tenants. Only about 3 are privately owned. We found all this out from our solicitor. We do have a bill for some work outside on the roof and it is indeed split between the flats equally. The only bad thing is that the council get the quotes ad don't do much to ensure value for money

Thanks for that. What I don't understand is why the council would be so careless in getting quotes if they are going to be paying 3/4 of the bill? Surely it's in their interests to keep costs down if they are paying most of it? In a way that could work out better for me because they have an incentive to keep costs down and not just palm them off on leaseholders.

TrickyDicky101

Mortgage_Moog wrote: »

Thanks for that. What I don't understand is why the council would be so careless in getting quotes if they are going to be paying 3/4 of the bill? Surely it's in their interests to keep costs down if they are paying most of it? In a way that could work out better for me because they have an incentive to keep costs down and not just palm them off on leaseholders.

Costing the council money is different from costing the people who make the decisions money (ie council employees). Same problem with every public sector organisation - ultimately it is the tax payer that foots the bill so there is comparatively less incentive to limit costs - the staff will still get paid irrespective of whether they do a good job or not.

tim123456789

Lioness_Twinkletoes wrote: »

If the Council didn't tender for the work then you can challenge the costs. They have to carry out legal consultation if they intend charging more than £250 per flat. Part of that consultation is a tendering process.

But councils tend to put a lot of corporate expectations into their tenders which make it impossible for smaller, cheaper, companies to bid.

such as "your company must have a diversity policy acceptable to the council"

How many Father and Son builders are going even need, let alone have, a diversity policy

davidmcn

tim123456789 wrote: »

But councils tend to put a lot of corporate expectations into their tenders which make it impossible for smaller, cheaper, companies to bid.

such as "your company must have a diversity policy acceptable to the council"

How many Father and Son builders are going even need, let alone have, a diversity policy

They need one if they want the work. And speaking as someone who has rustled up required policies in a lunch hour, it's hardly rocket science.