Property Inheritance of a Leasehold

Silvershine

My husband was admitted to hospital midday New Years Eve and passed away on 06 Jan 18. 2 days before he passed away it was reported by his tenants that on their return from their Xmas break there was a leak from the upstairs property. I was only able to inspect the property (and water damage) on the Tues following my husband's death at which point I had to leave my contact details on a note to the upstairs leaseholder's tenants. My husband's flat is a mortgage free leasehold in his name only.
When I spoke to the upstairs tenant he advised me that they were aware that there was a leak in the shower but would not give me his Landlord's no but passed my contact details onto him. The upstairs landlord then tried to bamboozle me into having his contractor carrying out repair work the weekend of 10/11 Jan. I emailed him stating that this was not what I wanted and I wanted to get my own contractor in and quote as I was unsure of was I was legally able to do as my husband had passed away the weekend before and that I was of the opinion de-humidifiers were going to be required. It transpired that there were 2 leaks one above the hallway airing cupboard (he had converted his cupboard to a shower) and a leak in the kitchen from his washing machine pipe.
He then informed the Freeholder's management company of a claim from the building insurance. Needles to say no damage has been assessed a and I have had to call them on 4 occasions without result and being given different reason each time I called.
I wrote a letter of complaint regarding the person who was dealing with the matter and the next morning (this morning!) got an email from them attaching a copy of the leasehold and a charge for £96 as my husband had not informed them he was "sub-letting" and that could affect the building insurance. My guess is that this is a retaliation for the complaint letter. Waht do I do about this:
a) my husband has passed away but the leak was discovered 2 days before his death
b) The claim for the damage is against the upstairs landlord's insurance (not my husband's)
c) I still have not got a probate grant (still trying to find someone)
d) It was my husband who did not inform them re the "sub-letting"
e) The property is to be left to his 2 adult children with me getting the rental in comings and then being responsible for maintenance, building insurance etc - but nothing is in place yet
f) In the meantime the flat is not drying out and will probably start to form mould & create more damage
Apologies for the length of my message! -Please help (I'm tearing my hair out!)

G_M

Sorry to hear this

Silvershine wrote: »

...... Waht do I do about this:
a) my husband has passed away but the leak was discovered 2 days before his death
1) Did your husband write a Will? If yes, who is/are the Executers? It is for him/her/thm to deal with the Estate, including the property
2) have the tenants been informed, in writing, by the Executer(s) of their new landlord's name, and the new address 'fr serving notices, as well as who to pay rent to?
3) was there any damage to your husband's flat? Have you (or the Executer) arranged for quotes? Have you started repairs?

b) The claim for the damage is against the upstairs landlord's insurance (not my husband's)
4) you (or Executer - last time I'll specify) have no responsibility for damage upstairs. It is up to him to pay for repair to his flat, or claim on the buildings (or contents if applicable) insurance if he wishes).
5) neither the upstairs leaseholder, nor his tenants, have any responsibility forr damage to your flat unless you can prove negligence (eg they knew of the leak but ignored it)
6) it is up to you to pay for repair to your flat, or claim on the buildings (or contents if applicable) insurance if you wish

c) I still have not got a probate grant (still trying to find someone)
7) So you are the Executer?
Who do you need to find?
Have you completed the HMRC forms (if relevant) for Inheritance Tax (needed before you can get a Grant of Probate)

d) It was my husband who did not inform them re the "sub-letting"
Irrelevant.
If the sub-letting was unauthorised a payment may be due. His Estate will be liable and the debt should be included in the Estate Acccounts and hence also in the tax declaration

e) The property is to be left to his 2 adult children with me getting the rental in comings and then being responsible for maintenance, building insurance etc - but nothing is in place yet
Seems potentially complicated!
8) When do the children inherit? When the current tenants leave? When you decide to stop letting and sell? What happens if you die - does the rent continue to go you your estate and then your Beneficiaries?
9) I may be off-target, but did your husband draw up this wwill himself......?

f) In the meantime the flat is not drying out and will probably start to form mould & create more damage
10) So why have you (and/or the Executer) not taken action to
a) protect the property from further damage
b) get quotes
c) start repairs
either with/without claiming?

11) What has happened to the tenants?
Are they still living there? in a damp, mouldy flat?
Or have you re-housed them? Hotel?
Are they still paying rent?
Is there landlord's insurance in place (eg to cover re-housing if the property is uninhabitable)?

eddddy

Just to clarify some points:

Silvershine wrote: »

b) The claim for the damage is against the upstairs landlord's insurance (not my husband's)

Damage to the building (ceilings, walls, plaster etc) would typically be covered by the Freeholder's Buildings Insurance policy.

So it would be the freeholder that is making the claim, not the upstairs landlord.

(That assumes that the freeholder's policy covers damage caused by water leaks - it probably does. But if it doesn't cover water leaks, it's unlikely that you can claim from the upstairs landlord - unless somebody was negligent.)

If there is any damage to contents (furniture etc), then the owners of those contents could claim on their contents insurance policies.

Silvershine wrote: »

...got an email from them attaching a copy of the leasehold and a charge for £96 as my husband had not informed them he was "sub-letting" and that could affect the building insurance.

Assuming the lease says consent is required (which most do), the fee needs to be paid.

Arguably, £96 is a bit steep (a tribunal said the £40 was reasonable), but perhaps now is not the time to argue over £56.

I very much doubt that the unauthorised sub-letting has affected the insurance - but you could request a copy of the policy to check.

(TBH, it could be very serious if your husband really had done something that invalidated the buildings insurance - it could make your husband's estate liable for this and any other damage to the building. But I really do doubt that this is the case here.)