Repairs and agreements when owning HA property

John_In_Lincs

I am posting on behalf of a friend in the north-west who was hit by very difficult times. He was a carer (unpaid) for his wife, who died in December 2016. He is in his early sixties and has been severely depressed ever since, but not just because of losing his wife. He has worked hard all his life until very recently, when the factory, where he had worked since leaving school, closed down. He has some degree of mental health problems, the exact details of which I am unsure, though his poor memory is part of that problem.

He lives in his own flat, which he bought from the local housing association many years ago.

Over the last couple of years, the housing association have forced him to upgrade several things in his property as part of an agreement he knowingly entered into. The main upgrades have been the entrance door to his flat. Some fire regulations were updated and his old door one didn't meet certain standards. The replacement door cost £800 and he has been paying so much to the HA every month. I believe this has to be done again in the near future, but the HA have recently informed him that his roof needs replacing and have told him that he has to cover the total of this.

The problem is, although he is only able to pay so much a month (£22), the amount will soon have to be increased to cover these additional costs. Meanwhile, his income has gone down. He does not receive ESA, but JSA. The job centre can't do a lot with him due to his mental health situation, but he is still expected to search for jobs. He is willing to work and will accept work, but it's not looking good.

I am writing to ask if anybody knows if there is anything he can do to help himself. I have suggested he contacts a local debt charity, but he has been unwilling to do so.

The main concern is the HA contract. He knows it is part of the agreement that he pays this, but he believes that he will be made homeless if he cannot make the payments. Is this really true? Does he have any protection in this situation? Is it classed as 'reasonable' to be expected to pay such a large amount for the repairs in his situation?

My main concern is that he seems to be willing to end his own life. The fact that he talks about this makes me wonder how serious this should be taken, as I understand people who take their own lives don't usually talk about it beforehand. I am really worried about him.

I hope there is something he has overlooked that can be done to help him in this awful situation.

Thanks.

John.

System

is there no possibility of him selling the flat back too the ha and then just renting it? he would then be entitled to housing benefit and not liable for the repairs.

00ec25

he purchased his flat and is its owner. he is therefore expected to share the costs of maintaining the building in which his flat is located, just the same as any other owner of a flat

he cannot be made homeless since his owns where he lives, so no one can force him out. he is not a tenant.

however, he has limited options since he will have to pay his share:

a) sell, pay off his debts and move somewhere else. (don't expect to walk into social housing though)

b) negotiate with the HA to see if they will agree even more generous payment terms than he currently has

c) negotiate with the HA and see if they will accept non payment now in return for a charge on his property meaning when he sells (or dies) the HA takes what it is owed from the proceeds of the sale and he gets whatever is left over (which may be nothing)

Cakeguts

John_In_Lincs wrote: »

My main concern is that he seems to be willing to end his own life. The fact that he talks about this makes me wonder how serious this should be taken, as I understand people who take their own lives don't usually talk about it beforehand. I am really worried about him.

I hope there is something he has overlooked that can be done to help him in this awful situation.

Thanks.

John.

The answer is that some people do talk about it. In fact his mental health is in many ways more of a problem than the flat. You can't take the risk on what he might do. So you may need to call the crisis team out to him if he talks about harming himself again. If you don't think you can do that then it is either an ambulance or you take him to hospital.

The mental illness is getting in the way of the problem with paying for the flat alterations because if he was mentally well he would have a job and not have a problem with the payments. Also depending on how bad his mental health is depends on what help in benefits he gets but to get the help he has to be in the system.

I would suggest this. Forget about the flat now and concentrate on the mental illness because you can't do one without doing something about the other and the mental illness seems to me to be more urgent.

[Deleted User]

I agree that the fact he talks about it is NO indication he won't try to take his own life. Its an old wives tale along the lines of 'its only attention seeking'. Obviously its not, this friend is very unhappy and can't see a resolution.

One way to help is to find a resolution, like the advice above where the HA is asked if they will place a charge on the property only to be realised when the property is sold.

If they won't agree, get his MP involved. Hopefully that will help.

Thank you for caring and trying to help.

HampshireH

he cannot be made homeless since his owns where he lives, so no one can force him out. he is not a tenant.

Is that true? They can go for forfiture of the lease for rent, service charges or admin fees.

I am not 100% sure if repairs fits under the service charge section for legal purposes but it usually does for normal repairs in practice.

They can also take him to court for recovery of the monies owed.

He cannot be 100% responsible for the costs as they should be split between the total number of flats and he pays his proportion. They also have to follow S.20 process and consult for major works.

AdrianC

John_In_Lincs wrote: »

He lives in his own flat, which he bought from the local housing association many years ago.

Over the last couple of years, the housing association have forced him to upgrade several things in his property as part of an agreement he knowingly entered into. The main upgrades have been the entrance door to his flat. Some fire regulations were updated and his old door one didn't meet certain standards. The replacement door cost £800

Yep. That's the big drawback with owning a flat in a block. The maintenance to the block itself can be expensive, and the leaseholders pay a portion of it as service charge.

This is one of the reasons why RtB is often not as straightforward a gifthorse as it seems, and why it's important that the oral health is firmly established.

...but the HA have recently informed him that his roof needs replacing and have told him that he has to cover the total of this.

Well, a proportion of it, yes.

I am writing to ask if anybody knows if there is anything he can do to help himself

The most obvious solution would be to sell the flat and rent a property.

The main concern is the HA contract. He knows it is part of the agreement that he pays this, but he believes that he will be made homeless if he cannot make the payments. Is this really true?

Yes.

Does he have any protection in this situation?

The freeholder does have several hoops they need to jump through, especially in terms of consulting with leaseholders over major expenditure - but since the freeholder and leaseholder for most of the flats is the same body, the HA, it's mildly academic for those who've bought their flats.

Is it classed as 'reasonable' to be expected to pay such a large amount for the repairs in his situation?

The short version is probably yes.

Have a read of this: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/service-charges-other-issues/

If his flat is shared-ownership, then: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/shared-ownership-leases/

Mardle

Probably a long shot but have a look on his council website and see if there is the possibility of a grant. Some councils do offer grants to homeowners for essential repairs.

John_In_Lincs

Thank you all so much for your replies.

I don't have a lot of time at the moment to study your messages, though I did have a quick look yesterday. I should be able to throw myself back into this tomorrow.

Best regards.

Detroit

Cakeguts wrote: »

The answer is that some people do talk about it. In fact his mental health is in many ways more of a problem than the flat. You can't take the risk on what he might do. So you may need to call the crisis team out to him if he talks about harming himself again. If you don't think you can do that then it is either an ambulance or you take him to hospital.

The mental illness is getting in the way of the problem with paying for the flat alterations because if he was mentally well he would have a job and not have a problem with the payments. Also depending on how bad his mental health is depends on what help in benefits he gets but to get the help he has to be in the system.

I would suggest this. Forget about the flat now and concentrate on the mental illness because you can't do one without doing something about the other and the mental illness seems to me to be more urgent.

Could not agree with this more. Talking about suicide does not mean people will not do it. This is a dangerous myth. Any talk of this nature should be taken very seriously indeed.

Norman_Castle

The HA are highly unlikely to force payment of the debt. They have the option of payment over time and charging orders against the property. He needs to talk to the HA when payments are requested explaining he cannot afford them. They are very likely to spread the cost as before.
He won't be the only leaseholder in this situation. The HA will have alternate payment methods available to them.

The charges are capped, 15k in London, 10K outside over 5 years.
The Social Landlords Mandatory Reduction of Service Charges (England) Directions 2014



They can also be reduced depending on ability to pay.


The Social Landlords Discretionary Reduction of Service Charges (England) Directions 2014