HELP! Leaseholder advice required!

marmitemonster

Hi, I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. I live in a top floor leasehold flat with a balcony and on Monday there are contractors arriving to complete some repair works on the outside of the building. We have been informed, less than a week before the work is due to begin, that not only will we be unable to open our balcony door for the next 8-10 weeks (which will have a huge impact on us as we have a 3 month old baby and the flat becomes unbareably hot in the summer months - I have already requested a postponement of the works until the Autumn to which I have had no response) but also that the contractors will be changing the barrel on the lock of our balcony door. This is to prevent us from opening it as this would pose a health and safety risk. Is it legal for them to do this without our permission? I feel incredibly uncomfortable about the fact someone can just change the lock on one of our doors and I also have concerns about our own health and safety were there a fire in the building as it would restrict our escape route options (there is of course a communal stairwell up to the flat, but if this were inaccessible we would be stuck.)

Does anyone have any words of wisdom on this? I'd really appreciate any advice!

rtho782

They can't just change your lock. How would they do so without you unlocking and opening the door anyway? They can't have a key.

If you have that many issues with heat it sounds like you need a portable aircon unit, which you can vent out a window.

G_M

It sounds like the cost will exceed the threshold at which leaseholders have to be informed/consulted, so I assume you knew the work was planned.

Now you have been given the date. To be honest they can hardly schedule the start of work around one leaseholder's preference. If every leaseholder had a preferred date, or dates when they did not want the work to start, it would become impossible to manage.

As for the key, yes I assume they'll need you to provide them initial access to your flat in order to change the balcony lock, but this seems a sensible precaution.

Indeed, if you went out onto the balcony during the works and were injured, you'd probably be posting here asking whether you could claim compensation for their lack of care. Worse, imagine your child was 7 years old, not 3 months, and went out on the balcony.......

You could make a fight of this, refuse them access to change the lock etc, and I guess ultimately they'd have to get a court order, which would be expensive. The cost would be passed on to all leaseholders............

Be grateful your building is being well maintained/improved, and that it is being done by the sound of it by professional contractors who are concerned about safety.

Air conditioner for the summer?

rtho782

I wouldn't give them access to change the lock. If it's not safe for me to go out there I won't be going out there, but that's for me to decide, it doesn't mean they can change MY lock and not give me a key.

I would consider the risk of the builders letting themselves in (as they now have a key to my balcony door and I assume scaffolding) and stealing my stuff greater than the risk I might forget there is work going on, unlock it myself, go out, and leap to my death.

aneary

Really you think builders will come in and steal your stuff you really have no idea.

G_M

aneary wrote: »

Really you think builders will come in and steal your stuff you really have no idea.

More to the point, the Polish guy on the scaffolding who's dabbing paint on the exterior won't have the key.

It'll be held by some administrator in a locked office somewhere.

I suppose the office secretary might venture out one night, climb the scaffolding, and let herself in but........

(apologies to Poles, and secretaries, for any perceived racism or sexism.)

Lunchbox

You need to check your lease. Assuming that yours is like most other leasehold flats in that the balcony isn't part of the demised premises, and that you have a 'right to use' it, the lease should stipulate under what circumstances the right to use can be withdrawn. They do have the right to change the lock to prevent access if the lease provides for them to withdraw the right to use.

teneighty

I am inclined to agree with the OP. This must be quite a large job if it is taking 8-10 weeks so it is ridiculous that the freeholder has arranged it so that balconies will be blocked off for the entire summer.

As for changing the locks to the balcony doors I would suggest that could breach fire safety legislation. If the worst came to the worst I would much rather be taken off a balcony by the fire brigade than trying to be carried through a window.

Obviously I do not know the nature of the works but surely the works can be phased so that the balcony is only off limits for a minimum period, say 2 weeks max and extra screens/barriers used to protect homeowners on the balcony from potential falling debris etc.