Freeholder responsibility question (cross posted to DIY as well)

JenM_2

Hi,

Not really a House buying query as we already have bought the flat but I'm not sure where to put this (have cross posted to DIY)

We've already written to the freeholder to ask him these questions but haven't yet had a response (he was on holiday for 2 weeks but has been back for over a week now). My other half is chasing up the freeholder's company today.

Right - issue here: The frame for the front door of the buliding (converted house) is pulling away from the fabric of the building. We've invited the freeholder to come around and look at the problem, but we are now getting locked out of the building on a semi-regular basis when the door swells in the heat and pushes against the opposite frame. So - we own the hallway (though the upstairs neighbour has right of passage as her front door is off the main hallway) - who would own the front door & the frame for the front door. There are large chunks of cement coming away from the crack and you can now see through from the inside to the outside.

Does anyone have any sort of experience with leaseholds / freeholders? Should we be getting the problem repaired at our own cost and charging it back to the freeholders? Do we have any rights or are we stuck until the freeholder makes a decision?

Many Thanks for any Help!

JenM

[Deleted User]

do you have a lease?

under our lease that would be taken as on-going maintenance/repairs and would be charged to the leaseholders

JenM_2

We do have a lease (thanks for responding so quickly) - but it is absolute gibberish to us (I just rang my other half and asked him to look for the bit about maintenance / repairs).

So even if something is structural to the building it is the responsibility of the leaseholders to sort it out? I was always under the impression that the freeholder had to give his okay to anything structural / external (which this is) before any work could be undertaken.

Thanks again!

JenM

sooz

normally (though this will depend on your lease)

the freeholder is responsible for the work to the fabric of the building. This should include the front door. However, all the leaseholders will be responsible for paying for the work.

So, you call freeholder with problem, they get quotes, organise work, and then bill you (+ for their time & supervision...depending on the lease).

If there are only 2 flats, and you are both having problems getting in, you could try talking to your upstairs neighbour, & seeing if they are happy to split the cost with you, without involving the freeholder to actually organise the work.

Then write to the freeholder, saying that this is an urgent problem, & that you & the other leaseholder are happy to do the work yourselves. Give him a timeframe to respond, and if he doesn't respond by that date you will go ahead and do the repair.

JenM_2

Thanks Sooz - so the freeholder normally has no financial responsibility for problems with the fabric of the building? I knew we'd have some financial responsibility but thought that the cost would be split between us, upstairs & him (my own naiveity I guess!).

If I read your reply right - if we get him to arrange the repairs then he will charge us further on top of the work for his time, whereas if we organise the work ourselves (as per your suggestion) then we will at least avoid this cost.

What is the point of a freeholder then - are they (as I suspect) just around to collect money from us for doing nothing?!

Finally - who would we call for this sort of work - a builder? Would we need to get a structural report first?

Thank you so much for your response - very helpful!!

JenM

sooz

JenM wrote: »

If I read your reply right - if we get him to arrange the repairs then he will charge us further on top of the work for his time, whereas if we organise the work ourselves (as per your suggestion) then we will at least avoid this cost.

This depends on your lease. I have a :mad: of a freeholder, who charges me £1400 per year generally, then 13% of any work. And he does FA. And before anyone says I should have read my lease first, it's very badly written & effectively allowed him to do this by setting up a company to make money out of me, without consulting me. Previously, the old freeholder had charged me £50 admin/stamp/paper charges per year. Your lease might not allow him to charge anything ontop of the repair money, but this does not mean that he has to choose the cheapest quote. It's not his money!

What is the point of a freeholder then - are they (as I suspect) just around to collect money from us for doing nothing?!


Yes. If you get the chance to buy the freehold with you fellow leaseholder, jump at the chance. Also ensure you speak to the other leaseholder, as if you get a first refusal to buy it, they could reply that they don't want to, & scupper your chances.

www.lease-advice.org has lots of useful info

harryhound

Presumably the work is pretty trivial, especially if you can do a bit of DIY:

It is obviously a serious safety matter - you are stuck in the hall, part of the fire escape from the building and you burn to death while struggling to get the door open.

So to mitigate the risk to the negligent freeholder, you and the other tenant fix the front door and paint any bare wood that is allowing the moisture to swell the door.

End of story.

Unless the landlord is so grateful that he gives you a bottle of something for Xmas.

JenM_2

Hi Harry,

Thanks - it's not a simple repair (we've been repairing the whole flat and aren't worried about a bit of diy) - the frame of the external door is pulling away from the building - there are large chunks of cement falling out of the gap and you can see through from the inside to the outside now.

We're planning on replacing the front-door anyway - we're just concerned about the extent of the work required to fix this & wondering if the freeholder has any responsibility towards it as well.

JenM

sooz

JenM wrote: »

We're planning on replacing the front-door anyway - we're just concerned about the extent of the work required to fix this & wondering if the freeholder has any responsibility towards it as well.

JenM

make sure you are not in a conservation area. You might not be allowed to change your front door.

JenM_2

Thanks again Sooz (and also for that website - really helpful!).

I don't think we are in a conservation area (and the door is certainly not original to the house) but well worth considering!

JenM

Doozergirl

A freeholder should incur no cost in the ownership of a building.

However, structural repairs, if the freeholder 'manages' the property shouold be arranged by them or their managing agents.

In the totally real world, I assume your freeholder does not hang around too often and might not notice a new door frame. A new door they certainly will.

You can take management of your own property easily and legally for far less than the cost of buying the freehold. Buying the freehold only benefits if your lease is short enough to matter.