Leasehold house - £20000 contribution needed to upgrade roof. Any help appreciated.

bagby

Wondered if anyone on here has any experience and could help.  Daughter bought upstairs flat above a council tenant.  Metropolitan leaseholder has decided to replace all maisonette roofs on the estate and daughters contribution is £20000 at least.  This makes the total cost of the whole roof replacement at £80000.  There are two  upstairs two bedroomed flats and two downstairs two bedroomed flats - about the size of two semi detached houses).   There are no leaks in the roof.  An independent roofer looked at it and said the the roof did not need replacing but could be repaired on the corners at a cost of £900.  He quoted the cost of replacing the whole roof of daughters flat at £7000 which is a lot cheaper than the £20000 quoted by Metropolitan.   Any ideas on any options my daughter has regarding this.   A group has been created to try and fight this as the work does seem to be unnecessary and not  of reasonable value  so anyone has any advice then it would be greatly appreciated.   Daughter is extremely stressed about this as are other owners but she does not know where to turn.  Metropolitan have said the cost of £20000 can be paid over twelve months?   £1660 per month.  Can anyone really afford this on a normal wage as well as living expenses.  I think not.   Thanking you in advance.  

Slithery

Unfortunately that's the risk you take when you buy a leasehold property with the council as your freeholder.

JJR45

Unless they are replacing the whole roof (timbers, the works) how have they got it to £80k.
Ask for copies of the 3 quotes they have had done to replace it.

Mickygg

Slithery said:

Unfortunately that's the risk you take when you buy a leasehold property with the council as your freeholder.

Nice and helpful. 

NameUnavailable

Service charges have to be 'reasonable' and the work must be necessary - you (and others affected) can take the case to tribunal if you disagree with the works, although you will need to get your own surveys/estimates etc. and expert witness/es to support your case.

The problem is that the cost of all that is likely to run to over £20K and you may also have to pay the freeholders legal costs regardless of the outcome, plus of course the eventual cost of any work.

The first step is getting written quotes from that builder and challenging the freeholder with that, and see what they say. It is best if you and any neighbours can club together rather than all firing off your own emails/letters/calls.

HampshireH

The landlord should issue a section 20. The notice should explain what works are required. 

They should provide at least two quotes for works as part of this process

However your daughter needs to ask for what exactly is required.

https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/what-is-the-section-20-consultation-process-for-major-works/

If there are 4 in the block and two are leaseholders then her contribution in theory should be 25% UNLESS her lease states she is responsible for the roof as part of her demised premises. If this is the case and there are two top floor flats then 50/50.

This does happen and there was an example here a few weeks ago where the roof was included in someone's lease and they wanted to extend into it.

It sound like the HA don't intend to contribute to the costs for their two tenanted flats contributions (HA would pay this) which should be challenged depending on the terms of the lease

bagby

NameUnavailable said:

Service charges have to be 'reasonable' and the work must be necessary - you (and others affected) can take the case to tribunal if you disagree with the works, although you will need to get your own surveys/estimates etc. and expert witness/es to support your case.

The problem is that the cost of all that is likely to run to over £20K and you may also have to pay the freeholders legal costs regardless of the outcome, plus of course the eventual cost of any work.

The first step is getting written quotes from that builder and challenging the freeholder with that, and see what they say. It is best if you and any neighbours can club together rather than all firing off your own emails/letters/calls.

Yes a group,is being formed.   Been looking at florries law about how much they can expect people to pay.   They will get written quotes.  It would be cheaper for her to get the work done independently but don’t think that is allowed.

bagby

HampshireH said:

The landlord should issue a section 20. The notice should explain what works are required. 

They should provide at least two quotes for works as part of this process

However your daughter needs to ask for what exactly is required.

https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/what-is-the-section-20-consultation-process-for-major-works/

If there are 4 in the block and two are leaseholders then her contribution in theory should be 25% UNLESS her lease states she is responsible for the roof as part of her demised premises. If this is the case and there are two top floor flats then 50/50.

This does happen and there was an example here a few weeks ago where the roof was included in someone's lease and they wanted to extend into it.

It sound like the HA don't intend to contribute to the costs for their two tenanted flats contributions (HA would pay this) which should be challenged depending on the terms of the lease

Section 20 has been issued with two quotes.   Daughter has objected and getting info re tribunal..  there’s only one bought flat out of the four.

bagby

Slithery said:

Unfortunately that's the risk you take when you buy a leasehold property with the council as your freeholder.

No reply to you.

NameUnavailable

bagby said:

NameUnavailable said:

Service charges have to be 'reasonable' and the work must be necessary - you (and others affected) can take the case to tribunal if you disagree with the works, although you will need to get your own surveys/estimates etc. and expert witness/es to support your case.

The problem is that the cost of all that is likely to run to over £20K and you may also have to pay the freeholders legal costs regardless of the outcome, plus of course the eventual cost of any work.

The first step is getting written quotes from that builder and challenging the freeholder with that, and see what they say. It is best if you and any neighbours can club together rather than all firing off your own emails/letters/calls.

Yes a group,is being formed.   Been looking at florries law about how much they can expect people to pay.   They will get written quotes.  It would be cheaper for her to get the work done independently but don’t think that is allowed.

No she can't do any work herself, it's not her property (and she could be held liable for costs of 'rectifying' any work she carried out).

Mildreds_Earrings

bagby said:

Metropolitan have said the cost of £20000 can be paid over twelve months?   £1660 per month.  Can anyone really afford this on a normal wage as well as living expenses.  I think not.   Thanking you in advance.  

Hello, just to reply to this point alone, yes I agree that is a lot of money to pay per month and please don't think I am being unkind or unhelpful but as Metropolitan are not a bank or loan company, they cannot offer unlimited interest free payments. The HA I work for, the maximum we can offer is 3 years repayment for major works and leaseholders still shout at us, saying they cannot repay the full bill over 3 years. Unfortunately, that is not our problem. We provide the service and as leaseholders, they have to pay their share. All HAs (& Metropolitan) can do is give a repayment option. If they are not happy with that option, use another option to pay the bill.  Further, it is my understanding that if the HA offer repayments over a certain length of time (used to be 5 years maximum) the Financial Conduct Authority have to get involved. 
Regarding your main point, maybe your daughter can get enough evidence with her Group to prove the major works are unnecessary and take Metropolitan to the Leasehold Tribunal? Also check the Leasehold Pack that she purchased before sale (presuming she or the Vendor paid for it) because forthcoming major works within 2 years needs to be declared, together with any estimated costs. Hope that helps.