Leasehold insurance issues

bloodofeve

Hi,
I'm trying to help my daughter who completed a purchase of a leasehold flat top floor flat dating back to 1759 in June 2020 she has long term serious health issues so I act for her.
The purchase was delayed due to the collapse of the kitchen ceiling caused by water penetration through the roof. The ceiling was repaired by the vendor and everything seemed fine, until it started raining.
My daughter pays a ground rent which includes buildings insurance on the property to the buildings owners who hold the buildings' insurance. 
When the weather changed and it started raining, the water started to come through the kitchen ceiling again. It has caused a hole to form and every time it rains water pours through the ceiling. The area of damage is nearly 2mt sq!
I contacted the landlords legal team, sending photographs and videos of the problem asking for immediate action. We have had a reply from them and they have said the the landlord has gained legal advice and has told her the building insurance doesn't include any damage to the roof of the property and the roof is her responsibility. I have read through all the purchase documents and insurance information that we received, but nowhere does it state she is liable for insuring the property roof. The property is insured via MFU
My understanding of buildings insurance is that it covers the structure of the property including, windows and roof.
Can anyone give me some advise as to how we deal with this utter !!!!!! they are trying to fob her off with.
Many thanks 
Ann Kay

Tiglet2

I would expect that the landlord's buildings insurance to cover the roof - I agree that they are trying to pass the buck here.  Would MFU send you a copy of the policy documents so you can read for yourself?  If the building is very old, I would think that service charges/sinking fund fees would be on the high side to anticipate the constant maintenance such an old building requires.  Is it a management company that oversee maintenance and collect service charges or are you dealing with one landlord? 

davidmcn

Does the demise to her flat include the roof? Possible but unlikely.

Bear in mind though that fixing the roof itself is unlikely to be insured (unless damage was caused by an insured risk e.g. storm) - it's probably a maintenance cost which ultimately the leaseholders are paying for (which might be what they meant).

loubel

As above, you need to start by reading the lease to establish who is responsible for maintaining the roof. The solicitor's report would be a good start if you aren't confident reading the lease itself as they should have drawn to your daughter's attention if  she was responsible.

It is most likely the freeholder who is responsible for repairing the roof. If their insurance won't cover this (it won't cover repairs due to general wear and tear/old age/lack of maintenance - do you know what has caused the leak?) then this will be paid through the service charge. Your daughter should have been told if there is a sinking fund to cover large expenses (check the solicitor's report and the freeholder's LPE1 replies) but, if not, this will be an additional cost over the usual charge.

Presumably the cost of repairing the roof was considered given you say the condition of the roof was known about during the conveyancing process?

eddddy

As others have said...

• A leaking roof is often a maintenance and/or "wear and tear" issue - so it won't be covered by buildings insurance.

• The lease should definitely say who is responsible for repairing / maintaining the roof. If it didn't it would be a "defective lease", and your daughter's solicitor should have spotted that. (But if it really is a "defective lease", your daughter can apply to a tribunal to get it changed.)  But sometimes it can be difficult to decode what the lease is saying.

• Maybe it would help if you ask the landlord's/freeholder's legal team which clause(s) in the lease says the leaseholder is responsible for the roof.

Is there a loft above your daughter's flat? If so, maybe put some buckets in the loft to catch the dripping water to prevent further damage to the ceiling, until the roof is repaired.


Obviously, his is hindsight - but you shouldn't really have trusted the seller to do a good job of repairing the roof. There's always the risk that they'll do a quick, cheap botch job - just to get the flat sold.

Tracet74

I would also be finding out what "repair" was carried out by the vendor and if there is some form of guarantee attached to the work as it may be covered.