Reroofing flat roof of block of flats

bubbaspaarx

Hi there,

I am seeking some advice from the mse community regarding the block of the flats I live in.

The residents are all freeholder/leaseholders of the block and such it is our own responsibility to remedy things like our roof if they need repairing or replacing.

When I bought my flat circa 2.5 years ago, my surveyor said that the roof has roughly 10 years left in it but it will need some more gravel laying on it to extend it's life. However, (i live at the top in the middle) my cupboard which is in the communal hallway had a leak and is now quite moldy. We had some repairs done (just putting fibreglass type paint around the area) and it brought up some questions regarding the longevity of the roof and the cost....

I am a recent director of the residents association for our flats so I felt it was important to address the question of a reroof and how this would be financed. My surveyor at the time I purchased the property explained that a new roof would likely cost £55k ish and explained that techinally a repair of more than 20% of the roof would require it to be done to current building regulations i.e. It would mean reroofing. As we have no insulation in the roof either, this would mean a considerable cost towards this aspect of the reroof.

My question is... is this technically accurate and would a c.1800 sqft roof cost more or less than £55k?

As we have no slush fund and a group of residents with their heads in the sand, I need to put a good case forward for significantly increasing the ground maintenance charge.

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Crashy_Time

You need quotes from reputable roof repairers before you can do anything else?

EachPenny

For people to comment on the quoted price we'd need to know more about the building including how many floors it has.

I'd also suggest thinking about options other than just renewing the roof like for like. A flat roof will always be a maintenance nightmare. Materials technology and construction techniques have moved on a lot, so I would want to get some ball park estimates of the cost of replacing the flat roof with one with a shallow pitch using alternative materials.

The total cost of replacement with an alternative is likely to be more, but that could be offset against future maintenance liabilities and the possible effect on the value of the flats. People might be more willing to pay up if they are getting an enhancement rather than just a replacement. If nothing else, having a more expensive option on the table might make people more willing to pay for the cheaper like-for-like job!

bubbaspaarx

EachPenny wrote: »

For people to comment on the quoted price we'd need to know more about the building including how many floors it has.

I'd also suggest thinking about options other than just renewing the roof like for like. A flat roof will always be a maintenance nightmare. Materials technology and construction techniques have moved on a lot, so I would want to get some ball park estimates of the cost of replacing the flat roof with one with a shallow pitch using alternative materials.

The total cost of replacement with an alternative is likely to be more, but that could be offset against future maintenance liabilities and the possible effect on the value of the flats. People might be more willing to pay up if they are getting an enhancement rather than just a replacement. If nothing else, having a more expensive option on the table might make people more willing to pay for the cheaper like-for-like job!

Very good point. I hand't thought about that as a scenario. I had only really been looking like for like.

The building is a typical 70's style rectangular block with an inset flat roof. There's a total of 9 flats. 3 flats wide by 3 flats high (all single storey flats)

eddddy

bubbaspaarx wrote: »

Very good point. I hand't thought about that as a scenario. I had only really been looking like for like.

Most leases only allow the freeholder to charge the leaseholders for repairing/maintaining the building - and not to improve it (i.e. like for like)

... Unless you as joint freeholders (as opposed to leaseholders) have made some additional agreement about doing improvements.