must I pay for repairs to my downstairs neighbour’s extension?

ChristineLamb

I own the leasehold to the upstairs flat in a house of two flats. The garden flat is owned and occupied by that leaseholder. Together we jointly own the freehold. Some years ago, before I moved in, the downstairs neighbour built an extension onto their kitchen, which extends into their garden. My flat does not extend onto this extension.
There is some water damage to the exterior walls on the neighbour’s extension, and she is trying to get me to pay for half. This seems ridiculous to me- it’s not a shared structure. I’ve reviewed the lease and it doesn’t seem to mention anything about this point, by only refers to the ‘property’ as a whole. Can anyone shed any light? If her extension collapsed would I be liable to pay for half of its rebuilding costs? This seems absurd.

Thank you!

G_M

I can't read your lease from here so I can't answer.

What does it say about maintenance ad/or repairing obligations?

Which areas are the individual leaseholder's responsibility?
Which areas are the freeholder's responsibility?

Does it use terms like 'common parts/areas'? How are these defined?
How about 'structure' of the 'building'? How are these defined?

Is the extension now included in the downstairs lease and lease plan?


What caused the 'water damage'? A negligent act by yourself upstairs? Wear and tear to, for example, the guttering orflat roof?

Socajam

I would not pay it unless it is included in the lease. Seems neighbour is trying to get a free ride.
Stick to you guns and see what happens

G_M

Socajam wrote: »

I would not pay it unless it is included in the lease. Seems neighbour is trying to get a free ride.
Stick to you guns and see what happens

Until you know whether the gun is loaded or not (see post 2) it is rash to rely on it.


Check the facts, then start shooting if appropriate!


(neighbour may not be seeking a free ride.May simply be following the correct process for undertaking repairs)

ChristineLamb

Water damage was caused by a broken gutter. We had both committed to fixing all gutters last summer (would have prevented the damage) but downstairs neighbour cancelled the building works at the last minute due to costs.
Under the lease both leaseholders are jointly financially responsible for repairs to “the property” which is defined as the entire house. But I cannot see how it’s fair for the upstairs flat (regardless of who it is) to pay for an area they don’t have any interest in/ it’s not a common wall or anything?

SmashedAvacado

Its a bit more complicated than that. Firstly you need to look at the lease, as may have been amended for their property. Secondly you need to consider whether they got formal consent for the extension (just because they own a share of the freehold does not mean they could actually build the extension). In the document granting consent to the extension, it ought to have set out who ought to be responsible for what. In your situation, the starting point is very much document based. If they did not get formal consent for the extension, then you should insist that the position is regularised and then you can make it clear that in respect of the structure of the extension, that's all theirs as far as liability is concerned.

It does sound unfair that you might be liable, and if you are not wanting to pay up, then just say that you are not and ask them to demonstrate otherwise!

Tom99

Sounds like you need a detailed read of both leases, do you have copies of both leases?

Lokolo

ChristineLamb wrote: »

Water damage was caused by a broken gutter. We had both committed to fixing all gutters last summer (would have prevented the damage) but downstairs neighbour cancelled the building works at the last minute due to costs.
Under the lease both leaseholders are jointly financially responsible for repairs to “the property” which is defined as the entire house. But I cannot see how it’s fair for the upstairs flat (regardless of who it is) to pay for an area they don’t have any interest in/ it’s not a common wall or anything?

The same can be said for roof repairs, where you should pay all costs if you are the one directly using it. But it is the lease that determine who pays for what.

Tom99

When you look at the downstairs lease check the lease plan to see what comprises the demised area.
Normally the red line which defines the demise will run around the internal face of the outside walls meaning the walls become common parts. If downstairs had the garden included in the demise you would expect the red line to run around the outer edge of their garden.
If that is still the case then the whole of the extension will be within the demise of the ground floor flat and they will be responsible for it's repair.
However the lease may have been altered at the time of the extension so that only the internal space of the extension was within the demise.
Let us know what the downstairs lease says.

davidmcn

ChristineLamb wrote: »

Under the lease both leaseholders are jointly financially responsible for repairs to “the property” which is defined as the entire house.

What exactly do the leases describe the house (and their respective demises) as?

SmashedAvacado

Its possibly a bit more complicated than what the leases say about the house - because you also need to consider the position regarding alterations. The alterations may have been carried out without formal consent. This is your best hope if the lease is vague / silent.