Shared ownership communal

tony3619

Not sure if this is  the right forum but...

On shared ownership service charges can I be charged for communal area work that I have no access to or am denied access? Such as if my house is attached to a block of flats but the flats have a communal staircase which is keycoded? 

molerat

It will all be in your deeds.

user1977

Yes, if the deeds say you're to pay for it.

tony3619

user1977 said:

Yes, if the deeds say you're to pay for it.

Where would I find this. I have my shared ownership agreement and a copy of deed form but both are very vague and the contract just says under the definition of communal areas "shared access to communal facilities" with my argument being without access can I argue against it being a communal area for me 

user1977

tony3619 said:

user1977 said:

Yes, if the deeds say you're to pay for it.

Where would I find this. I have my shared ownership agreement and a copy of deed form but both are very vague and the contract just says under the definition of communal areas "shared access to communal facilities"

Probably a lease?

It should all have been explained to you by your solicitor at the time you bought, so maybe dig around the paperwork from then.

Manxman_in_exile

You really need to post on the House buying, renting and selling board:  House buying, renting & selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum

As others have said all this should be spelled out in your deeds/lease, and should have been explained by your solicitor (if you had one).

FWIW I would say that, according to the definition you have given, you would not be liable for the upkeep of an area you do not have shared access to.  But it's quite possible that elsewhere in your deeds/lease there is a clause making you liable to contribute to maintenance of all shared or communal areas, whether you have access or not.

bris

Are you connect but separate if you know what I mean?

If its like a row of buildings with your next door neighbours being this block of flats then I would say no if your title deed don't expressly state you are communal with X addresses. 

I would say no with what your title deeds say about communal areas which you aren't part of. 

DullGreyGuy

What does your contracts say about how costs will be shared? Some are very straight forward with total cost divided by number of units, some are more complex and use number of bedrooms or sq footage as the way to divide it and some add the extra complexity that only certain units are charged for certain facilities (in a past block floor 2+ paid for the lifts and not G or 1 - lift didnt stop at 1) 

Do you really want access to the communal areas of the flats? Sounds like a fairly petty comment. We are in a similarish situation (other than straight leasehold) but do know the keycode for the main door even though in 4 years of being here we've only used it twice when Amazon delivery guys dumped our parcel in their hallway. 

tony3619

DullGreyGuy said:

What does your contracts say about how costs will be shared? Some are very straight forward with total cost divided by number of units, some are more complex and use number of bedrooms or sq footage as the way to divide it and some add the extra complexity that only certain units are charged for certain facilities (in a past block floor 2+ paid for the lifts and not G or 1 - lift didnt stop at 1) 

Do you really want access to the communal areas of the flats? Sounds like a fairly petty comment. We are in a similarish situation (other than straight leasehold) but do know the keycode for the main door even though in 4 years of being here we've only used it twice when Amazon delivery guys dumped our parcel in their hallway. 

I see no mention on how the service charge is paid. It just says "to pay a fair proportion to the landlord (who should act reasonably)for communal facilities (if any) and other parts of the estate"