Chimney removal, who foots bill.

zepherous

bolwin1 said:

As mentioned above, they may well be right in terms of the law. If was you or the other private owner, I would be looking for bills you may have paid in maintaining any of the common areas that logically you thought were yours to bear. If you do have any, ask for these to be netted off against the cost of the chimney. 

Unfortunately the council will only pay a share if we use and "approved contractor" we were cheaper getting work done and paying all than sharing costs of their contractors. 

zepherous

fenwick458 said:

how much is the quarter? have you had advice from a solicitor?

A quarter share is £875. Unfortunately I cannot afford a solicitor right now due to no longer having a job :-(

zepherous

rob7475 said:

I'm not sure if any legal protection on your home insurance would be able to advise on this?

I guess the council owned all four properties at one point which is why the deeds will be worded like that. It's in black and white though so I'm not sure you have a way out of it.

I'd be getting some expert legal advice before proceeding down the court route - if you lose, legal costs for the council will be potentially massive and you'll be liable for them.

Yes they owned all four at one point. The legal cover on the insurance won't help as we didn't have them as an insurance provider when this started. It is a small claims court so they cannot claim more than £150 for their legal bill. Unfortunately I do not have the funds for a solicitor. 

zepherous

anotheruser said:

Wait, so the council want number 21 and 23 to help with removing the chimney over number 17 and 19 just because they're part of the same building, despite the chimney being there does not affect number 21 or 23?

Something isn't right there.

That's like saying the council can claim half the cost of replacing the roof of the council house if I live in a semi-detatched house (council owning one property, private the other).

That's exactly what they are doing. They would do the same even if a tile came off the roof at their side :-(

zepherous

molerat said:

I assume you are referring to this part of the act

(5)For the purposes of this section, references to rights of common property being attached to flats as pertinents are references to there attaching to each flat equal rights of common property; except that where the common property is a chimney stack the share allocated to a flat shall be determined in direct accordance with the ratio which the number of flues serving it in the stack bears to the total number of flues in the stack.

In all honesty you need legal advice rather than going to court on a wing and a prayer.

Thank you. Unfortunately I cannot afford a solicitor, struggling to make ends meet right now.
  

Eldi_Dos

Make an appointment with your local councillor and take any paperwork concerning this issue with you, explain that their property was unoccupied for such a long period of time and had deteriorated to such an extent that they needed to remove the chimney stack but if property had been occupied and maintained this would not have been necessary. The councillor may be able to find agreement which does not to go through courts.

TELLIT01

Eldi_Dos said:

Make an appointment with your local councillor and take any paperwork concerning this issue with you, explain that their property was unoccupied for such a long period of time and had deteriorated to such an extent that they needed to remove the chimney stack but if property had been occupied and maintained this would not have been necessary. The councillor may be able to find agreement which does not to go through courts.

The point about the property not being maintained is well made.  If there is joint liability between all properties for repair of the chimney, are they also able to claim 1/4 of the cost of renovating that property from each property? 

twopenny

It makes no sense, yet the fact that you agreeded to the paperwork and didn't think to question it (well why would you) is the sticking point.

You were sold the property, you would expect to be free of obligation but the deeds say otherwise which you accepted on purchasing.

Frankly the council are taking advantage, they want it all ways. To get a sale and free from maintenance for your property but for you to pay for that that remains theirs. It's a really devious move.

Yes, they are probably in law in the right but morally they are soooo very wrong. There must be a precident for this but it would take a solicitor to sort it out. One that is on your side.

Can you search for a precident on the net? Can you get a one off request to a solicitor?

Bought a house and problems not disclosed doesn't seem to apply if it is in the paperwork but here's a link to investigate

https://www.getagent.co.uk/blog/conveyancing/bought-home-with-undisclosed-problems

No searches bring up this situation that I can find. Maybe a point to consider.

Money_Grabber13579

zepherous said:

bolwin1 said:

As mentioned above, they may well be right in terms of the law. If was you or the other private owner, I would be looking for bills you may have paid in maintaining any of the common areas that logically you thought were yours to bear. If you do have any, ask for these to be netted off against the cost of the chimney. 

Unfortunately the council will only pay a share if we use and "approved contractor" we were cheaper getting work done and paying all than sharing costs of their contractors. 

Perhaps a bit tongue in cheek but if it wasn’t quite so serious, it might be fun to argue that their contractor wasn’t approved by you so you won’t pay a share. They can’t have it both ways but I suspect they will probably try.

zepherous

Money_Grabber13579 said:

zepherous said:

bolwin1 said:

As mentioned above, they may well be right in terms of the law. If was you or the other private owner, I would be looking for bills you may have paid in maintaining any of the common areas that logically you thought were yours to bear. If you do have any, ask for these to be netted off against the cost of the chimney. 

Unfortunately the council will only pay a share if we use and "approved contractor" we were cheaper getting work done and paying all than sharing costs of their contractors. 

Perhaps a bit tongue in cheek but if it wasn’t quite so serious, it might be fun to argue that their contractor wasn’t approved by you so you won’t pay a share. They can’t have it both ways but I suspect they will probably try.

They used "emergency powers" meaning they didn't need to liaise with us over contractors etc.