Communal area needing new door and plastering

shapala

Hi all

My wife and I are shortly to move into a new Victorian tenemant flat (5 apto's in the block) :j.

There is a factoring charge but the main door into the communal area is shockingly awful and should be replaced. There is also damp - easy to rectify and should do as there's a lot of mould build up.

I don't mind paying for a new main door and doing the plastering (actually, my dad will do it - he's a plasterer) but do I need permission from everyone in the other 4 flats to undertake the work? The main door will be more in keeping of the Victorian building rather than the 80s safety glass monstrosity currently there.

If anyone could let me know, that'd be great - it would make the lobby look so much more appealing. No idea what the factoring company do to be honest, esp @ £125 a month. We found said lobby quite dirty, and the mould is surely a health hazard?

scottishblondie

Yes you require permission to undertake the work, you cannot make changes to communal areas completely off of your own bat. You need to be careful not to fall foul of any building regulations when installing a new main door for the building, also is there a secure entry system that would be impacted by changing the door?

If the factor is not doing their job, then perhaps it is time for the building to move on to a new one. Of course the problem could be the other owners - if they won't co-operate/pay up then the factor is limited by that.

shapala

scottishblondie wrote: »

Yes you require permission to undertake the work, you cannot make changes to communal areas completely off of your own bat. You need to be careful not to fall foul of any building regulations when installing a new main door for the building, also is there a secure entry system that would be impacted by changing the door?

If the factor is not doing their job, then perhaps it is time for the building to move on to a new one. Of course the problem could be the other owners - if they won't co-operate/pay up then the factor is limited by that.

Thanks for the info. Being a Scottish mid terraced property, there's the usual communal area, of which some of the tiling is gorgeous as are the stairs but certainly needs a new main door and the damp to be addressed.

Yes, there is a secure entry system on the outside of the building for each of the 5 apartments.

Your username it apt since the building is both Scottish and also a blonde building too :beer:

Davesnave

How do you know the damp will be 'easy' to rectify?



Treating damp on Victorian buildings is a specialist area, so you will maybe need to convince the other residents that you know what you're doing and carry them with you. If I were one of them, I'd need to know why there is damp and what your proposal is to treat it.

scottishblondie

I would leave the issue of the door aside for now, as the damp is much more pressing. Your best first step is going to be to talk to the factors directly to determine why the damp has not already been addressed. Are they actually aware of it? Some buildings suffer from a terminal lack of people reporting issues. Or they may already be working on it and have found it is not an easy fix.

shapala

scottishblondie wrote: »

I would leave the issue of the door aside for now, as the damp is much more pressing. Your best first step is going to be to talk to the factors directly to determine why the damp has not already been addressed. Are they actually aware of it? Some buildings suffer from a terminal lack of people reporting issues. Or they may already be working on it and have found it is not an easy fix.

Thanks for the replies.

I am quite amazed nothing has been done about the damp to be frank.....it's noticeable as soon as you walk through the main door and will have been exacerbating for years. The lobby is also in need of a repaint too. All has been mentioned in the home report. Why the other residents are paying £120/month for the factoring and this hasn't been addressed is beyond me as it would certainly be something I would want rectified.

scottishblondie

shapala wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I am quite amazed nothing has been done about the damp to be frank.....it's noticeable as soon as you walk through the main door and will have been exacerbating for years. The lobby is also in need of a repaint too. All has been mentioned in the home report. Why the other residents are paying £120/month for the factoring and this hasn't been addressed is beyond me as it would certainly be something I would want rectified.

To be honest, a problem that has been ongoing for that long without being rectified would have been a massive red flag to me. Either the other owners don't care or the factors are rubbish - one can be fixed but the other cannot. I would have wanted to determine which it was before purchasing, as I know from personal experience that owning a flat in a building where the other owners do not care is incredibly stressful and expensive! Hopefully you can get the situation resolved to your satisfaction.

TELLIT01

Factor responsibility and liability is something which should have been thoroughly investigated before the purchase, not after. Unfortunately, you are where you are so need to check your documentation to see exactly what the factor's responsibilities are. If the common areas do fall under their remit get on to them to fix the damp etc.

If the doors are simply not to your liking that is not justification for them being replaced and expecting others to contribute. If they are supposed to provide secure access and are failing to that it's a different matter.

shapala

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Factor responsibility and liability is something which should have been thoroughly investigated before the purchase, not after. Unfortunately, you are where you are so need to check your documentation to see exactly what the factor's responsibilities are. If the common areas do fall under their remit get on to them to fix the damp etc.

If the doors are simply not to your liking that is not justification for them being replaced and expecting others to contribute. If they are supposed to provide secure access and are failing to that it's a different matter.

Yes, understood about the door - it's fine, it's just ugly (it's from 1970s/1980s, not 1870s when the property was built unlike the neighbouring properties which have the original main doors) and if we need to pay for a new door, that'd be fine from our end.

The concern is with the damp - issue is that we're moving into a very buoyant market. One estate agent mentioned that a flat on same road sold same day to a cash buyer and nothing on their books lasts more than a week for same street.

Hence, we saw it the day it was added and put in offer to solicitor following day....closing day was 4 days later. Sadly, couldn't get in touch with the factoring company before our offer was accepted due to work commitments. We will see how it goes and will keep this post updated.

troffasky

shapala wrote: »

The concern is with the damp - issue is that we're moving into a very buoyant market. One estate agent mentioned that a flat on same road sold same day to a cash buyer and nothing on their books lasts more than a week for same street.

Have you ever heard of an estate agent telling a prospective buyer that things are pretty slow moving so there's no need to rush in to making a purchase? Me neither.

TELLIT01

troffasky wrote: »

Have you ever heard of an estate agent telling a prospective buyer that things are pretty slow moving so there's no need to rush in to making a purchase? Me neither.

The only way to know an estate agent is stretching the truth is to check they are breathing.:rotfl: