Please help! Ref freeholder and Building Insurance

Bee152

I really need some help.
I bought my first property last July, and after a few months I received a letter from the freeholder asking for £230 for buildings insurance. I sent a letter to them saying I had already set building insurance up but that I was happy to go with their company if they sent me details. I then got a final notice letter from them, so I paid the £230. Then in January i get a letter as a reminder for the ground rent of £5. Fair enough i completely forgot to pay it, but then they send me a s146 for £65. I freak out and pay that as well. I've now had a second reminder for insurance of £230 for the "forthcoming year". I only moved in to the flat in July but because they never sent me the details of the buildings insurance I've continued paying the one I arranged. The lease says that setting up buildings insurance is my responsibility, but other than sending them another letter I'm not sure what else I can do. (They only have a postal address). Any help would be greatly appreciated!! 

Thanks 

davidmcn

Are you sure the lease says that arranging buildings insurance is your responsibility? What exactly does it say?

greatcrested

Bee152 said:

The lease says that setting up buildings insurance is my responsibility,

Unusual.Please quote the exact wording in the lease.

Bee152

I've attached a picture, as it's very long but that's definitely what it seems to say.

Bee152

Here it is!

greatcrested

Not the easiest to read but... does seem strange! Do you own a house or a flat?

If a flat it is strange (and impractical) that each flat-owner separately insures the structure of their flat jointly with the freeholder rather than a single policy being taken out by the freeholder for the building.

Hwever that does appear to be what it says, in which case the freeholder should not be taking out insurance and demanding payment from you.

davidmcn

I agree with the above. Though if the insurance you've arranged isn't in joint names, then really neither you nor the freeholder has complied with the lease!

What advice did you get from your solicitor when you bought, as I would have expected them to confirm what the position was with buildings insurance (which would be a usual thing for them to tick off for the purposes of your mortgage).

Bee152

It's a maisonette and I have the front and the back garden. My solicitor said that I needed to sort out the building insurance but that the freeholder was looking into setting up insurance for all of the maisonettes. The letter just refers to an insurance premium, and that if it doesnt cover the whole amount I need to let them know. £96,000 doesnt seem very much.

princeofpounds

Yeah this is a bit weird. It does seem to imply that you need to be the one organising buildings insurance in the name of yourself AND the freeholder. But it also implies that the freeholder has to approve 'from time to time' the insurer, so it's not as if you have any real control at all. It seems that the freeholder is confusing this duty/right of approval with the duty/right to arrange the insurance. Certainly it's more normal for the freeholder to arrange and then pass the cost onto the leaseholders, it makes a lot more sense given the freeholder 'owns' the whole building as a single entity. Multiple leaseholders arranging full building insurance is just mad, and perhaps that's why they don't do it that way.

If I were you, I would go back to your solicitor to talk it through. I would probably then try to set up a discussion with the freeholder to understand what they are thinking, and whether it reconciles with the lease or not. 

greatcrested

How many maisonettes?

Are the other leases for the other maisonette(s) the same? It's also unclear if you are expected to insure the entire building or just your maisonette. If the other maidonette(s) have similar leases, is there duplication of cover?

All very impractical.

Frankly the ideal would be to have allthe leaseholders and freeholder review the leases and amend them to a more sensible  method of insuring.

Bee152

So I spoke to the ppl upstairs and they have never paid insurance, but they pay £30pcm ground rent which is much more than my £10 a year!. 
So on my street there are 4 blocks of maisonettes. 2 ground floor and 2 upstairs for each block. The other two households on the street i know both rent so they dont have any ideas.

It does seem to say that I should set up and pay buildings insurance, and that is what the solicitor advised me to do when I bought the property!
Thank you so much to everyone who has replied! It does seem a very complicated situation, made worse by the fact I can only send the freeholder letters!