Stair fund query

maggiesoup

Hello.  My friend and I have owned a small flat in a block of 8 which we rent out.  We pay into a Stair Fund which was run by a lovely owner/occupier who would provide an incomings/outgoings spreadsheet every year to each flat.  Sadly the chap died a couple of years ago and his second signatory (another owner in the stair) has been hopeless at gettings things done.  For at least a year now I have been trying to get sight of the bank statement to see how much is in the Fund and how much has been paid to contractors (of which there must be very few) but she's fobbing me off with excuse after excuse.  I've called the bank but the guy said he can't discuss anything with me because I'm not the signatory.   Can anyone advise if I can state any legal jargon that would prompt her into taking action?  Thanks in advance.

canaldumidi

Not sure what a 'stair fund' is but I'm guessing it is for block management?

Is this Scotland (maybe stair fund is a Scottish thing?)?

If not, Who owns the freehold?

Is there a RTM company in place?

Is there a property management company overseeing maintenance?

Is there a residents association? What is its structure?

maggiesoup

Thanks for your help.  Yes I'm in Scotland.  The stair fund is private and run by one of the owners of one of the flats.

user1977

If you have the statements up to a couple of years ago, roughly how much do you think we're talking about? In whose name is the bank account?

canaldumidi

As I said, I'm not familiar with the Scottish system, but presumablt there is some formal structure to the fund and how it is managed?

A Resident's Association? Annual Reports? Election of .. Director/Treasurer/ whoever 'runs' it?

Surely it cannot be a totally informal arrangement with no oversight?

maggiesoup

user1977 said:

If you have the statements up to a couple of years ago, roughly how much do you think we're talking about? In whose name is the bank account?

 can't give that information on an open forum

MovingForwards

maggiesoup said:

user1977 said:

If you have the statements up to a couple of years ago, roughly how much do you think we're talking about? In whose name is the bank account?

 can't give that information on an open forum

You should have a rough idea about how much was in the account. If you don't, find your last statement, 8x however much is paid per year x however many years, less what has been repaired / insurance paid = £?

Is it dead person + 2nd signatory or someone else?

You weren't being asked to openly name them.

What information were you given by your solicitors when you purchased this property? Did you receive anything to say these people were set up as a residence association or management company?

maggiesoup

Sorry, see what you mean now!

Yes, I can work out what the fund should have in it but I've no idea what's been paid out to contractors.  I've asked time and time again but she's always "too busy"   "dealing with family matters"   "going into hospital for an operation"   it's one excuse after another.

The guy who passed away was the other signatory so it''s just her now.  The Residents Association was set up privately by the people who lived in the flat at the time.   Just need some guideline as to the legal situation, as she's the only person holding the fund who can sign cheques (yes, she's still using a cheque book, nothing online (apparently)

Thanks.

firebubble

Stop paying in, and see how long it takes her to notice and chase you (on the basis that if she's that disorganised, she probably won't notice for a while if there is a reserve. If she's embezzling, she'll notice more quickly!). You can then use your nonpayment as gentle leverage to get more information on a quid pro quo basis.

It could be just voluntary to pay in (the alternative being she needs to ask you for your share of the bill every time something needs to be done), but even if not and the overall landlord could (unlikely worst case scenario) has a right to evict you (again, very, very unlikely), she would need to notify the overall landlord that you weren't paying (which would mean she'd need to prepare a properly updated spreadsheet) and they would need to contact you (at which time you can say it's not being run properly and you want to see accounts before you resume payment) before taking any action.

The Resident's Association must have a set of terms for its governance - if you can get hold of them, you could see how you could challenge her doing this alone. You were probably provided with them when you bought the flat. If there were originally two signatories, then it's likely there should still be two signatories under its own rules. There will be a process to elect new members and how meetings and information should be conducted - and also a way to dissolve it.

You'll force the issue if you stop paying in because you're not being provided with proper information. 

user1977

maggiesoup said:

I've no idea what's been paid out to contractors.

Do you know any other owner-occupiers who will at least have a better idea of what work has been done?

TripleH

I can't advise if there are detrimental results of Firebird's suggestion, but if you pay in regularly but them stop paying, whatever you do move the funds you should be contributing to an alternative account and keep them there so that once you do get access to the information you can immediately get yourself up to date.

My first port of call would be to read the information you received from your solicitor when you bought the flat.