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Purchased a leasehold with share of freehold earlier this year - other freeholder hard to contact
gdbruin
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hi,
We purchased a leasehold flat in August this year, with a share of the freehold (we have the lease for the upper flat, and they have the lease for the downstairs flat - it's a maisonette.) The freehold is not in a company name, but owned by ourselves under one name (50%) and them under one name (50%).
We are having some issues with a roof leak staining one of our walls after the recent wind and rain.
When we purchased the flat, we were only given the other freeholders' mobile number - their address on the leasehold enquiries is erroneously listed as the downstairs flat (they infact live elsewhere, and rent out the downstairs.)
We're now trying to contact them to get them to agree to do a roof repair (cost is about £700) - we've texted, called, and we've been lucky in that they haven't entirely vanished. They've occasionally replied via text saying that they are going to get 'their roofer' to come and check, but no-one has come, and we're now coming up on a full month with a leaking roof - we're concerned about rot to the beams supporting the roof, and the stain on our wall, while it hasn't grown, isn't that pleasant to look at.
What avenues do we have here to ensure that we can get them to agree to a repair? Shall we just make the repair and tell them how much it cost? Is there a problem with that? How can we recoup their share of the repair cost? Their general behaviour is to ignore 90% of our texts and reply with single sentences with little helpful information. Is there a legal recourse here? We're first-time buyers and this is proving to be a real headache.
We're concerned for the future - if there's any large scale repairs needed, we're worried he'll just vanish! Not to mention selling the flat in the future, etc, etc - anything that needs their mutual agreement seems in jeopardy. Any advice would be appreciated.
We purchased a leasehold flat in August this year, with a share of the freehold (we have the lease for the upper flat, and they have the lease for the downstairs flat - it's a maisonette.) The freehold is not in a company name, but owned by ourselves under one name (50%) and them under one name (50%).
We are having some issues with a roof leak staining one of our walls after the recent wind and rain.
When we purchased the flat, we were only given the other freeholders' mobile number - their address on the leasehold enquiries is erroneously listed as the downstairs flat (they infact live elsewhere, and rent out the downstairs.)
We're now trying to contact them to get them to agree to do a roof repair (cost is about £700) - we've texted, called, and we've been lucky in that they haven't entirely vanished. They've occasionally replied via text saying that they are going to get 'their roofer' to come and check, but no-one has come, and we're now coming up on a full month with a leaking roof - we're concerned about rot to the beams supporting the roof, and the stain on our wall, while it hasn't grown, isn't that pleasant to look at.
What avenues do we have here to ensure that we can get them to agree to a repair? Shall we just make the repair and tell them how much it cost? Is there a problem with that? How can we recoup their share of the repair cost? Their general behaviour is to ignore 90% of our texts and reply with single sentences with little helpful information. Is there a legal recourse here? We're first-time buyers and this is proving to be a real headache.
We're concerned for the future - if there's any large scale repairs needed, we're worried he'll just vanish! Not to mention selling the flat in the future, etc, etc - anything that needs their mutual agreement seems in jeopardy. Any advice would be appreciated.
0
Comments
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I have had similar situations with you.
Luckily I found the name of the agency which deal with the renting of the flat.
In the end I sent a letter before action about a stain on my ceiling (new boiler was leaking) and they swiftly sent a builder round to repair the damage.0 -
I have had similar situations with you.
Luckily I found the name of the agency which deal with the renting of the flat.
In the end I sent a letter before action about a stain on my ceiling (new boiler was leaking) and they swiftly sent a builder round to repair the damage.
Hey,
Thanks for your reply - unfortunately we're also the freeholder! So we're in a bit of a deadlock with it all.0
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