New Builders responsibility for dangerous roof tiles.

davidmcn

thearchitect said:

davidmcn said:

anselld said:

isagan said:

I'm contacting a solicitor as I believe Berkeley homes should carry out a full inspection of the all the properties to ensure someone is not injured or killed due to a falling slate. Please let me know your feedback.

You could also speak to local building control.  They have enforcement powers against unsafe structures 

Yes, but their enforcement powers would be against the OP as the current occupier...

Personally I'd have a roofer up there PDQ the moment lockdown is over

Lockdown shouldn't prohibit any sort of semi-urgent repair work.

isagan

Thanks thearchietect for your feedback, as you said it's Marshfield Traditional imitation local concrete replication stone slate imitation and a neighbour also advised as these are concrete tiles they shouldn't crack and move as they should be securely nailed in. I'm trying to find a good reputable roofer who can inspect the three properties and provide a report and fix the missing tiles. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or can help?
I'm still disappointed by Berkeley homes customer service as I thought they would have provided customer care to check these roofs are safe and secure. We also had the chimney stacks replaced by Berkeleys in the last few months and could this have caused the roof tile falling issues?

Davesnave

isagan said:

We also had the chimney stacks replaced by Berkeleys in the last few months and could this have caused the roof tile falling issues?

It's possible scaffolding may have placed undue strain on the tiles. My tiles have broken as a result of poor scaffold-building. Unfortunately, many scaffolding companies are even less concerned about their customer service than builders.

davidmcn

isagan said:

We also had the chimney stacks replaced by Berkeleys in the last few months and could this have caused the roof tile falling issues?

Aha! That sounds like a relevant thing it would have been useful to mention in the first place.

knightstyle

I have een several similar tiles damaged like this. Usually after a "builder" had gone onto the roof to fix something or an aerial had been installed on the chimney.
The tiles are not designed to hole a persons weight, they should use the proper roofing ladders. 

robatwork

I'm not entirely on the same page as everyone else.

You may have some valid action against the home builder. It's reasonable to think a fridge will last for 10 years for example. What about a brand new roof? Albeit with some maintenance I think 30 or 50 years. The question is, when should the maintenance start? I think any new roof in the UK should last 10 years without any maintenance subject to no extreme conditions and no misuse. 

The thing is I'm a layman with just an opinion. Can you get a roofer to write a report (and potentially go to court) to state that the roof wasn't of sufficient quality when laid, and that it should have lasted longer before needing maintenance?  Or better 2 roofers?

See what the professionals say. If you can get 1 or 2 roofers to state the roof wasn't up to good building standards, then it's letter before action time. Otherwise just get it inspected and fixed yearly.

davidmcn

robatwork said:

You may have some valid action against the home builder. It's reasonable to think a fridge will last for 10 years for example. What about a brand new roof?

The laws which imply the durability of a fridge exclude houses, so this doesn't have any legal relevance. As above, the OP's only remedies would be on the basis of any guarantees explicitly provided when they bought.

Or, as it now turns out, against the builders for stomping around on the roof much more recently.

ElephantBoy57

davidmcn said:

isagan said:

.Yes, but cars are different. You haven't had to put your house through an MOT, or to get a licence to use one. Almost everything you buy doesn't have a recall system like cars do.

An MOT is not required in the first 3 years, the average lifespan of a car is around 10 years. You have picked a poor example.

davidmcn

ElephantBoy57 said:

davidmcn said:

isagan said:

.Yes, but cars are different. You haven't had to put your house through an MOT, or to get a licence to use one. Almost everything you buy doesn't have a recall system like cars do.

An MOT is not required in the first 3 years, the average lifespan of a car is around 10 years. You have picked a poor example.

I wasn't the one who started picking poor analogies...

Thrugelmir

ElephantBoy57 said:

davidmcn said:

isagan said:

.Yes, but cars are different. You haven't had to put your house through an MOT, or to get a licence to use one. Almost everything you buy doesn't have a recall system like cars do.

An MOT is not required in the first 3 years, the average lifespan of a car is around 10 years. You have picked a poor example.

Longer than ten years if it's properly maintained. Though no one waits until something goes wrong prior to taking action. 
I've been watching ridge tiles progressively fall off the property opposite for over a year now. The neighbour has little concern for the bigger problems that may arise. Never understand some people when the issue could be fixed in a couple of hours.