Freeholder breaching lease?

ElieseKM

I bought a new build four years ago, there has been two leaks on an external wall, I have reported these last year and followed up multiple times however the freeholder is telling me to claim on the new build insurance. The freeholder is responsible for the structure so I’m not sure they are correct?

 There was a mains water leak in an adjacent commercial unit within the block which has come through my wall, I asked them to repair but they say it was nothing to do with them and the so I raised with my management agent as there is a clause in the lease that stipulates the freeholder should resolve tenant disputes but they won’t get involved.

Any suggestions on how I can get this resolved would be appreciated. Thanks in advance 

eddddy

ElieseKM said:

I bought a new build four years ago, there has been two leaks on an external wall, I have reported these last year and followed up multiple times however the freeholder is telling me to claim on the new build insurance. The freeholder is responsible for the structure so I’m not sure they are correct?

You need to explain a bit more.

• Do you mean the external wall is still leaking?

• Or do you mean the external wall has been repaired (by the freeholder) so the leaking has stopped, but there is damage to the plaster, paintwork etc, in your flat?

• Do you know where the leak was coming from? Was it a pipe, water tank, washing machine etc - or was it rain water leaking in when it rained?

ElieseKM said:

There was a mains water leak in an adjacent commercial unit within the block which has come through my wall, I asked them to repair but they say it was nothing to do with them and the so I raised with my management agent as there is a clause in the lease that stipulates the freeholder should resolve tenant disputes but they won’t get involved.

As above...

Do you mean the leak is still leaking so a pipe needs repairing?

Or do you mean the leak is fixed, and you're taking about damage caused to your plaster and paintwork etc?



Edit to add...

And I assume you are talking about a leasehold flat in England/Wales.

ElieseKM

They haven’t even looked into why it leaked, they said their only responsibility is sorting out communal bills. It hasn’t got any worse since I reported it but would expect them to look into why and repair the damage to the paintwork and floor where the water has saturated through.

ElieseKM

Re the mains water leak that was resolved as was a faulty connection with their dishwasher, I’m looking for the commercial unit to repair my walls.

ElieseKM

Yes the flat is in England 

eddddy

ElieseKM said:

They haven’t even looked into why it leaked, they said their only responsibility is sorting out communal bills. It hasn’t got any worse since I reported it but would expect them to look into why and repair the damage to the paintwork and floor where the water has saturated through.

1) If it's rain water leaking in through an external wall or roof - the freeholder is usually responsible for fixing the external wall or roof. (But maybe double check that's what your lease says.)

2) If it's water leaking from a neighbouring flat (e.g. a leaking pipe, leaking washing machine) the flat owner (leaseholder) is responsible for fixing the leak.


In either case - 1 or 2 - you will be usually be responsible for repairing the plaster and paintwork in your flat.

The exception would be if the leak was caused by somebody's negligence. Negligence is often difficult to prove. You'd have to find the cause of the leak, and show that it's somebody's fault.


If it's option 2 - in theory you could claim on the Freeholder's Buildings insurance (not the New Build Insurance). But as it was 2 separate leaks, it would be 2 separate claims.

However, the excess on the Freeholder's Buildings insurance might be £1000 or £2000 for each escape of water claim. So it probably doesn't make sense to do that.

ElieseKM

It does say in the lease that the freeholder is responsible for fixing this however they are saying that they are not and should be claimed on the new build insurance

eddddy

ElieseKM said:

Re the mains water leak that was resolved as was a faulty connection with their dishwasher, I’m looking for the commercial unit to repair my walls.

As above, the people in the commercial unit would only be liable if they were negligent.

But perhaps in this case, you could try arguing that somebody was negligent.  For example, if somebody tried to connect a new dishwasher to the mains water and did it badly, resulting in the leak - that person was probably negligent.

If the person was an employee of the company next door, then you could claim against the company for the damage to your walls.

If the person was a plumber from a plumbing company, then I think your claim might be against the plumbing company for the damage to your walls.

 
I suspect that the freeholder is only required to get involved in disputes relating to breaches of the lease. This probably isn't a breach of lease, so the freeholder wouldn't get involved.

eddddy

ElieseKM said:

It does say in the lease that the freeholder is responsible for fixing this however they are saying that they are not and should be claimed on the new build insurance

Fixing what?

Almost all leases say that...

• The freeholder is responsible for the structure of the building like external walls and the roof. So the freeholder has to fix those things.

• The leaseholder is responsible for the plaster and the paintwork. So you have to fix those things.

After 4 years, New build insurance will only cover major structural problems. This isn't a major structural problem.

ElieseKM

Fixing the cause of the leak, there has been a leak in the same place four times since I have moved in. I think it happens when there is rain in a certain direction. The water has damaged my oak flooring and paintwork, the paintwork is minor I can fix this but the flooring is more substantial, should I be paying for this as well?

eddddy

ElieseKM said:

Fixing the cause of the leak, there has been a leak in the same place four times since I have moved in. I think it happens when there is rain in a certain direction. The water has damaged my oak flooring and paintwork, the paintwork is minor I can fix this but the flooring is more substantial, should I be paying for this as well?

This new information might change things. It depends on what exactly happened.

For example, if this happened...

• 1) Rain leaked in the first time and did some damage. You told the freeholder that there was a rainwater leak in the building. But the freeholder did nothing.

• 2) Rain leaked in a second time and did more damage (and maybe you told the freeholder again, and they still did nothing)

• 3) Rain leaked in a third time and did more damage

• 4) Rain leaked in a third time and did more damage

The freeholder should have investigated and fixed the problem when you reported incident 1.

If they did nothing, you could argue that they were negligent. Because they didn't fix the problem after incident 1, more damage was done by incidents 2, 3 and 4. Therefore they are liable for the damage done by incidents 2, 3 and 4.


But it sounds like you have a difficult freeholder, so it might be quite a fight.


(Just to make sure - you've been contacting the freeholder. Does that mean that there is no management company?)