£10k Major works charge!

Mark300zx

Bought an ex-local authority flat and the council want to spruce up the exterior, it is a block of six flats, over three floors the repairs are extremely minor with some minimal painting, they want to lighten my wallet to the tune of £10k. Are there any procedures or appeals I can lodge to look at this and try to reduce this highly extortionate penalty?

Slithery

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6266744/leasehold-house-20000-contribution-needed-to-upgrade-roof-any-help-appreciated

eddddy

Mark300zx said:

Bought an ex-local authority flat and the council want to spruce up the exterior, it is a block of six flats, over three floors the repairs are extremely minor with some minimal painting, they want to lighten my wallet to the tune of £10k. Are there any procedures or appeals I can lodge to look at this and try to reduce this highly extortionate penalty?

If your contribution is over £250, your freeholder will have to do a 'Section 20 consultation'. 

You will get the opportunity to comment on and challenge the proposals during the consultation. Realistically, objections like 'I can't afford it' probably won't work. It needs to be based on things like the wording of the lease, the condition of the building, the choice of contractors, etc.

More info: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/section-20-consultation-council-other-public-sector-landlords/

But unfortunately, big bills like this tend to be a feature of flats with a council freeholder. I think that's a major reason why ex-LA flats tend to be relatively cheap - because you often have to pay large service charge bills. 

GDB2222

 How many flats in the block are leasehold and how many tenanted?

tacpot12

It's not a penalty. It is a charge for work that will be done.

I own a leasehold flat where the local council is the freeholder and have had a number of these S20 notices, for sprucing up the communal areas, reroofing and fire safety improvements. I've only been charged what the work cost for my block, so for example the roof was fine, so I was only charged for the gutters than needed replacing. The communal area improvements included double-glazing, lino on the floors and repainting and came to about £1,000. The fire safety improvements, including fitting a firedoor on my flat, were also about £800. Having looked into the work myself, I couldn't have saved any money by engaging my own contractor. The council do overpay a bit for the work, but their economy of scale reduces the effect of this.

You need to engage in the consultation that they are obliged to undertake and understand if the work really needs doing or can it be put off. If there is £10,000 of work that needs doing per flat, you might need to look at getting a personal loan for the cost. The work will increase the value of your property.   

AdrianC

Mark300zx said:

Bought an ex-local authority flat and the council want to spruce up the exterior, it is a block of six flats, over three floors the repairs are extremely minor with some minimal painting, they want to lighten my wallet to the tune of £10k. Are there any procedures or appeals I can lodge to look at this and try to reduce this highly extortionate penalty?

What stage is it at?

Have they completed the s20 consultation, had quotes in, and selected that supplier as offering the best value?

Pok3mon

My did once owned a ex council flat in a block of 12 and had bills for years for cleaning, maintenance, removal of excess rubbish in communal bins area, door damage ect (it was a cut through for one half of the estate). I once checked one of his statements once and the bill was divided by 4 the 4 people who owned flats. The council was not charging themselves for years!! only the 4 owners. They put it down to admin error when the flats where transferred to a housing association. He got a huge refund for 12 years of payments!

kasqueak

Sold my ex council flat a few years back. At the time we’d been sent a preliminary bill of 21,000 for works they wanted to do over the following 5 years. 

I actually sold my flat back to the council!

Always felt as a leaseholder you had a very little say with the council over this. The council seem to over pay for work so I used to think their estimates were way over the cost. 

It’s something that happens with all leasehold properties in that you have to pay a share of the bill for major works. However with ex council properties I think the bills are higher for a few reasons - the council seem to pay too much for the works and also less leaseholders to share and challenge the bill!
They have to consult with you so make sure you attend any leaseholder meetings etc and get all the facts. 

Crashy_Time

tacpot12 said:

It's not a penalty. It is a charge for work that will be done.

I own a leasehold flat where the local council is the freeholder and have had a number of these S20 notices, for sprucing up the communal areas, reroofing and fire safety improvements. I've only been charged what the work cost for my block, so for example the roof was fine, so I was only charged for the gutters than needed replacing. The communal area improvements included double-glazing, lino on the floors and repainting and came to about £1,000. The fire safety improvements, including fitting a firedoor on my flat, were also about £800. Having looked into the work myself, I couldn't have saved any money by engaging my own contractor. The council do overpay a bit for the work, but their economy of scale reduces the effect of this.

You need to engage in the consultation that they are obliged to undertake and understand if the work really needs doing or can it be put off. If there is £10,000 of work that needs doing per flat, you might need to look at getting a personal loan for the cost. The work will increase the value of your property.   

The fact that similar work can be mandated in future will reduce the value.

NameUnavailable

kasqueak said:

It’s something that happens with all leasehold properties in that you have to pay a share of the bill for major works. However with ex council properties I think the bills are higher for a few reasons - the council seem to pay too much for the works and also less leaseholders to share and challenge the bill!

They have to consult with you so make sure you attend any leaseholder meetings etc and get all the facts. 

How come less leaseholders? If there are 50 flats and 25 are privately leased, you should still only be paying 1/50th of the costs. The clues will be in the wording of your lease......... It doesn't mean that only those people who have bought their lease pay all costs.
The 'problem' with council properties is that they will probably be using major companies for any works so bills will inevitably be higher, and councils can charge for improvements which private freeholders cannot.

Crashy_Time

Interesting.